It's time for the main draw. After two frenetic days of non-stop matches on several simultaneous courts, the FIP Silver BMW Marmotor 25 Anniversary Club La Calzada makes the jump to the main draw. This international tournament steps on the accelerator to head towards a weekend of world sport, with an international birthday party that decides champions with 15,000 euros in prizes and 80 FIP points for the players of the winning couple.
With more than 200 players from three continents, 67 male and 34 female couples, this championship that started this Wednesday raises expectations on its way to the end of May 4th. The competition is gaining speed with local couples fighting for their place, such as Corrochano-Sánchez and Martín-Morales, who are vying for their place in the main draw. Also in contention are the coveted places that will be decided between the González-Flores and Figueroa-Pérez duo, who have had to hold on to the draw tooth and nail in a three-set match full of tension (6-4/3-6/4-6) against Lluis Miró and Alex Tur.
Also still in the battle are the youth players Osorio-Peña and Maldonado-Martínez, representatives of local talent who are seeking their international breakthrough to the tournament, and the protagonists of the match between Orduña-Beneyto and the Spanish-Italian couple Pirrota-López, who have played a great game in the qualifiers. The Italian player and his teammate from Gijón aroused the attention of the stands in a match with several twists that they finally won 6-1/5-7/5-7.
After knowing the names of those who join the main draw, the FIP Silver BMW Marmotor 25 Anniversary Club La Calzada will now have all its candidates for the title, taking off with its main draw with matches in eight tracks and for more than 12 hours of play without brakes.
This Friday, Club La Calzada receives the men's top seeds, the Murcian Javier Garcia and the man from Madrid Javier Barahona, against his first rivals of the day, Héctor Vázquez and Pablo Cuesta. The confrontation between Tenerife's Íñigo Jofre and his partner Luis Hernández against Bentahor Espino and Iago Fuertes also promises to be one of the most interesting matches of the day; and the face to face between Enrique Goenaga and Teodoro Zapata against Ignacio Alonso and Pablo Sánchez.
The women's category also debuts with its best names. A dozen couples will open the girls' slopes starting at 9:30 a.m., to warm up a day that guarantees excitement. The Argentine couple Julieta Bidahorria and the former professional tennis player from San Sebastián Lara Arraubarrena come into play, as well as the Canarian player Raquel Eugenio, who plays with his Barcelona teammate, María Eulalia Rodríguez; and the national couple of Águeda Pérez from Madrid, and Melania Merino, from Valladolid.
In women, strong opponents such as the couple formed by Laura Luján and Teresa Navarro, or Leticia Manquillo and Patricia Martínez could surprise, with duels that also open possibilities for the tandem of Rebeca López and Alicia Blanco, among others.
The dozen matches this Thursday have been the most demanding warm-up for a weekend of padel tennis at the best level, which places the island as the center of the International Padel Federation circuit and the Cupra FIP Tour these days. The spring weather that characterizes the Canary Islands, the holiday and the sporting atmosphere have led sports fans to gather at Club La Calzada, which has been a coming and going of paddle tennis lovers, families, coaches, athletes and delegations from a dozen countries around the world.
Epicenter of world padel
The FIP Silver BMW Marmotor 25th Anniversary Club La Calzada has already received couples of Ukraine, Sweden, Brazil, United Kingdom, Italy or Greece, among other nationalities, turning this 25th birthday party of Club La Calzada into the epicenter of the best padel in the world.
On Sunday the 4th, the women's final is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., while the men's final will put the finishing touch to the competition starting at 12 p.m.
The FIP Silver BMW Marmotor 25th Anniversary Club La Calzada, promoted by the International Paddle Federation, the Spanish Paddle Federation and the Canarian Paddle Federation, has the support of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and its Insular Sports Institute, the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and its Municipal Sports Institute, the Government of the Canary Islands and companies such as BullPadel, MejorSet, Mndo, Weebora, Marmotor, BMW, Livvo, Head, Spar Gran Canaria, Green Corners Care, Olistic, Mia Pharma, Saludbox, IVB, VitalDent, among others.
