The inaugural CUPRA FIP Promotion India Padel Open in Greater Noida ended successfully. The Spanish team won both the men’s and women’s doubles crowns on Sunday. Spaniards Pol Alsina and Edu Altimires Ros paired up to compete in padel competitions all over the world. Mainly on the Asian circuit. Their formidable on-court collaboration was evident in the men’s final of the FIP Promotion India Padel Open at Bennett University in Noida.
They won 6-4, 7-5 over Frenchmen Arthur Hugounenq and Thomas Seux. Alsina and Altimires have played Padel for nearly 15 years and currently make Indonesia their base. The day started with the women’s doubles final, in which Ainize Santamaria Landa and Aitana Solan Domenech fought back from a set down to defeat the Japanese-Spanish duo of Kotomi Ozawa and Elisabeth Nogueras Lorenz. With a large crowd cheering them on, the Spaniards won 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The Spanish duo struggled to find their footing as Kotomi and Elisabeth repeatedly fired balls into tight areas. Elisabeth, who has been active on the circuit for a decade, delivered flawless returns, with her devastating backhand particularly effective. The Men from Barcelona came together two years back. They relied heavily on their smashes to seal a 6-4, 7-5 result, their maiden win on the FIP tour.
Spain’s domination at India Padel Open
Alsina said, We have competed all over Europe, we have been to South America, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and now India. We see a lot of potential for this sport in India because the crowd seems to love it and it is a fairly easy sport to begin. They will next feature in Dubai and will compete in Australia in January.
The event was FIP’s maiden foray into India and the organisers see significant growth potential. The tournament director Aditya Khanna said, “We see a lot of promise for the sport. The turnout has been amazing and the quality on display has been superb. We expect a huge surge in padel’s popularity.”
