The inaugural Dubai Padel Cup — an inclusive monthlong event featuring exhibition matches with the world’s leading professionals and amateur competitions open to the public — is poised to elevate the city as the Middle East’s undisputed padel capital.
A headline event of this year’s Dubai Fitness Challenge, which runs October 29 to November 27, the four-week Dubai Padel Cup will bring action to the UAE for the first time during three days of action-packed exhibition matches on a purpose-built court in the shadows of Dubai’s iconic Museum of the Future and the Jumeirah Emirates Towers from November 2-4.
World No. 1 Juan Lebron Chincoa is set to lead a top-ranked international field that includes Fernando Belasteguin (world No. 6), Pablo Lima (No. 8), Luciano Capra (No. 14), Javier Arturo Coello (No. 17), Garrido Gomez (No. 18), Miguel Lamperti (No. 20), Adrian Allemandi (No, 22), Juan Martín Díaz (No. 26), Jorge Nieto Ruiz (No. 21), Juan Mieres Petruf (No. 56), Sergio Icardo Alcorisa (No. 114), and more. The two-person doubles teams will play four matches on each of the first two days, before finals on 4. Seats will be available for purchase on the Platinumlist website.
“I’m beyond excited to be heading back to Dubai for the first Dubai Padel Cup,” said Chincoa. “I’ve seen the rapid growth of the sport on my previous visits and as we have seen with Dubai’s hosting of Expo, we know the city can do anything. Dubai and padel are a perfect fit. The people of Dubai are playing more and more padel, and Dubai can help padel grow even more on the world stage — we look forward to growing the game here in the Emirates and around the world.”
With Dubai Fitness Challenge launched by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, to encourage the public to pursue active and healthy lifestyles, the Dubai Padel Cup will also feature a knockout league for amateur female and male players of C and C+ ability from November 7-13, and a tournament for amateur male players of A and B ability from November 21-27.
Amateur league and tournament clashes will unfold at several Dubai-based padel clubs. World Padel Academy (WPA), one of the city’s leading padel club franchises, hosts the male-only tournament’s quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals for A and B categories.
“The Dubai Padel Cup supports the vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum to establish Dubai as a global padel destination and enhance the game’s stunning popularity surge across the UAE,” said Ahmed Hamada, Co-Founder, Dubai Padel Cup. “By combining exhibition matches with the world’s best players and the first citywide tournaments for amateurs of all abilities, the Dubai Padel Cup will showcase Dubai’s ability to host world-class sporting events, encourage active lifestyles and accelerate participation in the game at all levels. We want Dubai to be a global home of padel — and we want to have fun doing it.”
Padel is a unique racket sport played on an enclosed court roughly a quarter the size of a tennis court. Officially one of the world’s fastest growing sports, padel has blazed a trail of popularity across the UAE. Dubai leads the region’s padel boom amid a frenzy of new facility openings driven by huge popularity across multiple age groups.
“The Dubai Padel Cup is a welcome addition to the emirate’s calendar of world-class sports and community events. As part of this year’s Dubai Fitness Challenge, we look forward to working with the Dubai Padel Club organisers and the UAE Padel Association, clubs across the city and all players to create a true padel festival as part of ongoing efforts to grow the sport,” said Saeed Hareb, General Secretary of Dubai Sports Council.
To tap into the game’s budding popularity and drive residents’ 30x30 challenges, organisers of the Dubai Padel Cup are collaborating with Dubai Fitness Challenge to provide free coaching sessions for new padel enthusiasts, giving residents a great opportunity to hone their skills and attract more local people to the game.
Ali Al Arif, Founder and Managing Director, World Padel Academy, said: “The Dubai Padel Cup is very exciting, something like this has never happened before in the Middle East. The tournament is unique and it’s coming at the right time as part of Dubai Fitness Challenge — we have an amazing opportunity to grow the sport across the Emirates. Padel is going crazy. I have no doubt it will be one of the top sports in Dubai and the UAE very soon.”
