Players and officials pose for a group picture after the draw ceremony.
Doha: World No.1 Alejandro Galan and Juan Lebron will be looking to get off to a flying start when the 2023 Padel Majors season kicks off with the Ooredoo Qatar Major Premier Padel at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex tomorrow.
Despite finishing runners-up after losing to Francisco Navarro and Martin Di Nenno at the Ooredoo Qatar Major last year, the Spaniards enjoyed an exceptional season last year as they went on a title winning spree which included two Premier Padel Majors and an equal number of Premier Padel P1 tournament victories.
At the Ooredoo Qatar Major Premier Padel which will offer a total of €525,000 in prize money, Galan and Lebron will join a star cast which also includes all of the world’s top 20 players.
Ooredoo Qatar Major Supervisor Jose Luis Martinez conducts the draw.
“We are ready to host this tournament. This is a big challenge since we were busy with two big tennis tournaments (WTA Qatar TotalEnergies Open and ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open). You know this is the first time that we host a pedal event after these events," Tariq Zainal, Secretary-General of the Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation and Tournament Director said after the official draw ceremony held yesterday.
"We have built the courts outside the centre court and action is on right now. We will have the centre court also ready before the opening day’s action on Tuesday. It is a challenge for us, but we will have everything done on time,” he added.
Also present at the draw ceremony were Premier Padel Tournament Director Adel Aref, Ooredoo Qatar Major Supervisor Jose Luis Martinez, Qatar Tennis Federation Board Member Mohammed Al Subaei, Director of Sponsorship and Corporate Social Responsibility Ooredoo Ms Moza Al Muhannadi, and Qatar Tennis Federation Executive Director Saad Al Mohannadi.
Meanwhile, Galan and Lebron, who are the top seeds, received byes along with seven other pairs for this year’s first Padel Major, and will take on the winner of the match-up between Daniel Windahl (SWE)/Jose Solano Marmolejo (ESP) and Federico Mouriño (ARG)/Victor Manuel Mena (ESP) in the Round of 32.
The defending champions Francisco Navarro and Martin Di Nenno will team up with different partners this time, with No. 3 seed Navarro partnering with Argentinian Juan Tello and No.2 seed Di Nenno pairing with another Argentinian Franco Stupaczuk. Both pairs have received byes to the Round of 32.
Other pairs who received byes were; Arturo Coello (ESP)/Agustin Tapia (ARG), Javier Garrido (ESP)/Federico Chingotto (ARG), Fernando Belasteguin (ARG)/Carlos Daniel Gutierrez (ARG), Pablo Lima (BRA)/Jorge Nieto Ruiz (ESP) and Jeronimo Gonzalez (ESP)/Alejandro Ruiz Granados (ESP).
Four Qatari pairs Ali Al Saygh/Rayyan Al Jufairi, Mohammed Abdulla/Khalid Saadon Al Kuwari, Jabor Al Mutawa/Mohammed Al Khanji and Abdulla Alhijji/Mohammed Saadon Alkuwari were given wildcards.
“We have given wildcards to four Qatari teams as we feel it is necessary to give our players the exposure they need at this level. This should be an exciting week for them,” Zainal said.
Brazil padel legend Pablo Lima said that he is looking to wrap up his career playing the Master finals and competing with the very best players.
“I’m honestly very happy about my performance in the tour. I enjoyed playing here last time also. Hoping to do well this time,” Lima, the World No. 9 who is playing in his final Premier Padel season, said yesterday after attending the draw ceremony along with Sanjo Gutierez of Argentina, Jorge Nieto Ruiz ‘Coki Nieto’ of Spain and Fernando Belasteguin of Argentina.
Premier Padel Majors are equivalent to the Grand Slam championships in tennis and are the flagship events of the Premier Padel tour which debuted in 2022.
The remaining Majors this season will be played in Rome, Italy (July 10-16), Paris, France (September 4-10) and Monterrey, Mexico (November 21-December 3).
