PREMIER PADEL. Pretoria
Chingotto and Galán triumph in South Africa as Premier Padel makes its African debut
Premier Padel made history in South Africa as the Pretoria P1 became the first tournament ever played by the circuit on African soil. Held at the SunBet Arena, the event marked another important step in the international expansion of professional padel.
From July 27 to August 2, some of the world’s best players competed in Pretoria, with the tournament providing a spectacular introduction to the sport for a new audience and opening the door to a potentially important market for padel.
The tournament produced an unforgettable men’s final, while the women’s competition also delivered one of the most interesting stories of the season.
Chingotto and Galán survive an incredible final
Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto claimed the men’s title after defeating Javi Leal and Fran Guerrero 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (9-7) in a dramatic final.
The No. 2 seeds appeared to be in control after winning the opening set 6-2, but Leal and Guerrero responded brilliantly. The Spanish pair raised their intensity, attacked the net with greater consistency and managed to force a deciding set.
The third set became a battle of nerves. With both pairs refusing to give ground, the championship was eventually decided in a dramatic tie-break.
Leal and Guerrero even held a championship point at 7-6, but Chingotto and Galán produced their best padel when it mattered most, winning three consecutive points to secure the title.
For Chingotto and Galán, it was their sixth Premier Padel title of the 2026 season and their first since Buenos Aires.
The end of an extraordinary Coello-Tapia streak
One of the biggest stories of the tournament came before the final.
Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia, the world’s No. 1 pair, were eliminated in the semifinals by Leal and Guerrero 7-5, 7-5.
The result ended an extraordinary run: Coello and Tapia had reached the final in their previous 27 Premier Padel tournaments. Their defeat also meant that Pretoria would have a men’s final without the dominant Spanish-Argentine partnership for the first time since May 2025.
For Leal and Guerrero, the victory represented the biggest achievement of their careers and earned them their first Premier Padel final.
The pair, who have known each other since they were nine years old and have reunited for a third spell as partners, showed remarkable confidence against the world’s best team. Their aggressive style and excellent movement around the court turned them into one of the sensations of the tournament.
Although they ultimately fell short in the final, their performance in Pretoria confirmed that they could become an important partnership on the Premier Padel circuit.
Triay and Brea continue their dominance
The women’s final also featured a new partnership with an extraordinary story.
Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea defeated Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) in another three-set thriller.
Triay and Brea appeared to be heading toward a relatively comfortable victory after taking the opening set, but Fernández and Calvo fought back impressively and forced a deciding set.
The final set was extremely close, but the world No. 1 pair showed their experience in the decisive moments to secure the championship.
The victory represented the second consecutive title for Triay and Brea and their fifth title of the 2026 season.
Fernández and Calvo announce themselves
Despite losing the final, Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo were one of the biggest revelations of Pretoria.
The tournament was their first event as a partnership, yet they immediately reached a Premier Padel final.
Their semifinal victory was particularly impressive, as they defeated the No. 2 seeds, Paula Josemaría and Bea González, 6-1, 6-4.
Their success in Pretoria would prove to be no coincidence. Just one week later, the young Spanish partnership reached another final at the London P1, confirming that their chemistry and potential could make them one of the most interesting new teams on the women’s circuit.
A new frontier for Premier Padel
Beyond the results, Pretoria represented something much bigger for professional padel.
Premier Padel’s arrival in South Africa was a landmark moment for a sport that continues to expand rapidly around the world. The tournament at the SunBet Arena demonstrated the circuit’s ambition to establish itself in new territories and introduce elite-level padel to audiences outside its traditional European and Latin American markets.
Pretoria was also the first of two consecutive new destinations on the 2026 calendar, followed immediately by the London P1 in the United Kingdom.
The South African tournament therefore leaves an important legacy: a new market has been opened, new stars have emerged and the global expansion of Premier Padel has taken another major step forward.
For Chingotto and Galán, Pretoria brought another trophy. For Leal and Guerrero, it was the beginning of something potentially much bigger. And for Premier Padel, it was the start of a new chapter on African