Two of the world’s purest NextGen talents won the decisive point in the FIP World Padel Championships at the Khalifa Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha as Argentina won their 12th men’s title by defeating Spain.
As in 2022 in Dubai, the Albiceleste men lifted the trophy after defeat in the women’s final. Past midnight in Qatar, it was Tino Libaak and Leo Augsburger (just 39 years between them) who won the decisive tie 3-6 7-5 7-6 against Paquito Navarro and Mike Yanguas, after Agustin Tapia and Fede Chingotto had defeated Juan Lebron and Ale Galan’s (known as #ElRegreso).
The first of the three men’s final matches saw Arturo Coello (No.1 in the FIP rankings) and Coki Nieto take just 53 minutes to conquer the ‘Superpibes’ Franco Stupaczuk and Martin Di Nenno 6-1 6-2.
Then came the long-awaited moment for all padel fans around the world: #ElRegreso – a hashtag that has gone viral. Juan Lebron was paired once again with Ale Galan; 33 titles won together, but who decided to part ways last March.
On the other side of the net, Agustin Tapia – dominator with Coello of the Premier Padel circuit, with 10 titles in 2024 – and Fede Chingotto, who with Galan tried to break that domination.
The result was a spectacular match, with the first set decided at the tiebreak in favour of Argentina. Lebron and Galan’s reaction was timely, taking the match to the third and decisive set, in which Tapia and Chingotto went ahead by a break. A break that Spain came close to recovering, but without completing the task, with Argentina closing 7-6 3-6 6-2 in just over two hours.
The World Padel Championships were therefore decided in the last game, with Argentina’s NextGen formed by Libaak and Augsuburger opposing Navarro and Yanguas. It was the Spaniards who broke 5-3 to decide the first set, but the young Argentinians stretched the lead to 4-2 in the second set, only to suffer the return of Paquito and Mike. When the tiebreak seemed inevitable, Argentina closed 7-5 thanks to a point in the 12th game that came with a miraculous recovery from the ground by Libaak.
The break, in the third set, was scored by Spain (4-3), but Tino and Leo didn’t give up, immediately finding the counter break. At the beginning of the tenth game, Augsburger suffered a physical problem. The ‘Bombardero’ continued to play, until he dominated the tiebreak. There was a date with history, not to be missed.
“We have lived an incredible week, we are speechless,” Libaak said. Augsburger added: “We are a great team. We all played together, with words, with motivation. I’m so happy.”
Check out full men’s results from the FIP World Padel Championships
For the sixth World Championships in succession and ninth overall, the women’s title went to Spain, whose team members wore black armbands to honour the victims of the Valencia floods.
The second match of the final against Argentina which saw the title sealed lasted almost three hours. Spanish captain Icíar Montes chose the top two pairs in the FIP ranking: first Gemma Triay (3) and Claudia Fernandez (4), then Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez, the number 1. But Argentina, who won their last title in 2012, put up a stern test.
Triay and Fernandez brought home the first point, thanks to a 6-3 6-2 win over Virginia Riera and Julieta Bidahorria. But the Albiceleste came very close to taking the final to the deciding match, thanks to a great performance by Delfi Brea and Claudia Jensen.
After winning the first set 6-3 over Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez, the Argentines had hit back from a 4-1 disadvantage in the second, until they found themselves serving for the match at 5-4. At that point, however, all the talent of Paula and Ari emerged, and they were able to regain a break in the deciding set as well, with Brea and Jensen not enough to find themselves back on 5-4 and with service at their disposal. Spain, with three games in a row, returned to the throne.
Check out full women’s results from the FIP World Padel Championships
