International Padel Federation President Luigi Carraro, Qatar Tennis, Squash, Padel and Badminton Federation President Nasser Al-Khelaifi and QTSPBF Secretary-General Tariq Zainal with Spain's players and officials during the presentation ceremony.
Doha, Qatar: Spain completed a brilliant double in Doha, winning both the men's and women's FIP World Cup titles at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex late Saturday night.
The men's final, which stretched past midnight, saw Spain defeat defending champions Argentina 2-1 in a thrilling encounter to reclaim the title.
Aimer Goni Lacabe and Juan Lebron gave Spain the perfect start, fighting back from a set down to de-feat Martin Di Nenno and Leandro Augsburger 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 in a marathon two-hour battle.
However, Argentina hit back through Agustin Tapia and Federico Chingotto, who defeated Francisco Navarro and Jon Sanz 6-1, 6-2 to level the tie at 1-1.
With the title hinging on the deciding match, Arturo Coello and Jorge Nieto delivered a commanding performance, beating Gonzalo Alfonso and Valentino Libaak 6-3, 6-2 to seal Spain's victory and take sweet revenge on their archrivals, who had defeated them in the previous final at the same venue in 2024.
“We went through difficult moments during the match, but Aimar gave everything and we did well to stay in the contest,” Lebron said following the memorable win.
“We had our chances in the first set, but we failed to take them. There were difficult moments in the second set too, but we managed to fight our way back into a match that had become very complicated. In the third set, I think we were the better pair, partly because we managed to open up a gap on the scoreboard and manage our service games more effectively. But Martín and Leo played a fantastic match and deserve our congratulations. We are absolutely delighted,” Lebron added.
Players and officials of Spain women's team celebrate.
Earlier, Portugal claimed third place after edging Italy 2-1 in the bronze-medal match, while Sweden finished fifth with a 2-0 victory over Brazil.
The Netherlands secured seventh place after defeating Germany 2-0. France also recorded a 2-0 win over Paraguay to finish ninth, while Mexico claimed 11th place after overcoming Chile 2-1 in the classification play-off.
Meanwhile, hosts Qatar finished 14th after losing 2-0 to the United States in the men's classification play-off. Rashed Nawaf and Mashari Nawaf went down 6-7, 7-5, 1-6 in the opening match before Ray-yan Aljufairi and Mohammed Al-Khanji lost 1-6, 3-6. The third match was not played.
Earlier, Spanish women retained their World Cup title after defeating Argentina 2-0 in the final, ex-tending their dominance in the competition.Ariana Sanchez and Andrea Ustero gave Spain the perfect start, beating Osoro Ulrich and Fassio Goy-eneche 6-3, 6-3 in the opening match.
Paula Josemaria and Gemma Triay then sealed the title with a hard-fought 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 victory over Delfina Brea Sensei and Claudia Jensen in the second match. The third match between Bea Gonzalez and Claudia Fernandez and Virginia Riera and Julieta Bidahorria was not played after Spain secured the decisive second point.
Italy claimed third place after defeating France 2-0 in the bronze-medal match. Giulia Sussarello and C. M. Baldi secured the opening point with a 6-4, 6-6 victory, while Giulia Dal Pozzo and Emily Stellato sealed Italy's win with a 7-6, 6-3 success over Alix Collombon and Louise Bahurel. The third match was not played.
