Dubai: The stage is set for the grand opening of the first-ever professional padel tournament in the region with the World Padel Tour’s (WPT) Dubai Padel Masters at the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Sports Complex from October 25-31.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, this is the first time that such a high-profile padel competition from the WPT is being held anywhere outside Europe.
The Board of Directors led by Khalifa Yousuf Al Khoury, Chairman of the Organising Committee and First Vice President, UAE Padel Association (UAE PA), met with media late on Saturday to formally welcome the WPT family to Dubai. Majid Al Bastaki, Head of Media Committee, Ali Sharif Al Marzouqi, Technical Director and Mohammad Abdul Nasser Al Khayat, Meydan Commercial Director were also present.
Stressing the historical significance of the Dubai Padel Masters, Al Khoury said he hoped the tournament would open global doors for the sport and for the UAE. “This is a historical event for sport in the UAE and we want to show the world that this is indeed the best sporting destination,” Al Khoury said.
He lauded the efforts of the UAE PA led by Shaikh Saeed Bin Juma Al Maktoum. “We have a goal in mind and part of this goal is to have a healthy community. I am sure Padel will go a long way in assisting in the growth of healthy communities in Dubai in the near future. We are forever grateful to Shaikh Hamdan for his vision and backing in making this one of the most prestigious sporting events this season,” he added.
Organised by the WPT in close co-ordination with the UAE Padel Association (UAE PA), the Dubai Padel Masters will have 104 pairs of the best players from across the globe participating for top honours in next Saturday’s (October 31) final.
Tournament Director and first Vice President of UAE PA Mohammad Al Mutaiwe’e thanked the sponsors including Al Tayer Motors Land Rover, Meydan, Emirates NBD, Hills Advertising, Dubai Sports Council, Abu Dhabi Sports Channel, Al Jaber Optical and ME Media.
UAE-based Javier Lopez, Mauricio Andrini, Emilio Misas, Pedro Rios, Saeed Al Merri, Hassan Sharif Al Marzouqi, Dirk Jan and Benjamin Cassaigne will play against the Madrid qualifiers Gonzalo Rubio, Aris Patiniotis, Toni Bueno, Luchas Cunha, Raul Diaz, Raul Marcos Duran, Juan Cruz and Ignacio Gonzalez Gadea to decide which four go through to the main draw.
The pairings of Alicia Berl/Patricia Mowbray, Gabriela Bartomioli/Isabel Dominguez, Lilian Ramos/Angela Caro and Andrea Jareno/Tamara Icardo are the four pairs of women who will directly enter the main women’s draw.
The Round of 16 will be played on Sunday and Monday with the winners advancing to the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The finals will be played on Saturday, October 31.
The Masters circuit consists of the best 104 players in the world of Padel – 28 pairs in the men’s competition and 24 in the women’s event. The WPT calendar consists of 19 tournaments this year, along with five Masters Open and four Challengers. As per the hierarchy of events, the Masters are the most important tournaments in the professional world of Padel. The five stops on the Masters Tour for this season will be in Barcelona, Malaga, Monaco, Dubai and Valencia.
The Masters tournaments also have the highest WPT Ranking Points with the men’s winner of each competition getting 1,500 points and the women’s winners bagging 1,000 points. Competitors accumulate points at each of the Masters tournaments with the aim of qualifying to the season-ending Masters Final to be held in Madrid in the second half of December.
