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RIYADH: As the round of 16 in the Premier Padel Riyadh Season P1 tournament concluded on Wednesday, the winning players predicted a bright future for a relatively new sport that is growing in popularity around the world.

The competition at the Padel Rush Arena in Boulevard City, which features separate men’s and women’s doubles events, began on Saturday with two days of preliminary qualifiers, followed by the opening rounds of the contest proper on Monday and Tuesday.

Today’s winners progress to the quarterfinals on Thursday, with the semifinals on Friday and the tournament reaching its climax on Saturday. All in all the event will feature 71 matches in the men’s competition and 43 in the women’s.

Among those in action on Wednesday were the Spanish duo of Paula Martin and Ariana Fallada, who are joint top of the International Padel Federation women’s rankings. They enjoyed a comfortable 6-1, 6-0 victory over French player Alix Collombon and Spaniard Araceli Martinez.

Martin told Arab News that playing in Riyadh felt like home and she has noticed increased interest in the sport in the Kingdom.

“I was very surprised because there are so many people here … I can say there is an increase and (it is) growing, and that is the reason we are here,” she said.

Argentinian player Delfina Senesi highlighted the importance of advocating for the participation of women in sports.

“I think it’s fundamental for everyone, (for) every woman to see that they can play, that they can do anything that we want,” she said. “It’s very important for us to be here, to be in Saudi Arabia. We’re really happy to start the year here.”

Senesi and her Spanish playing player, Gemma Pons, who were playing together competitively for the first time, secured a hard-fought 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Spanish players Andrea Prieto and Alejandra De Villa on Wednesday.

“It was a long match, a really difficult one. The girls are playing really good. Everyone is getting better year by year, so we’re really happy,” said Senesi.

Asked what is the secret to success in the sport, she said: “The secret is working, working hard, every day; work on your mental health, work on your body is the key.”

Pons said that the match was difficult and she and Senesi struggled a little in the middle, but it came together in the end.

“We started the match really well and then they played, really good,” she said. “But this is really nice for us — 6-4 in the third set is great and, well, now we have to rest and prepare for the next match.”

In the men’s competition, Spaniard Javier Garrido and his Argentinian partner Martin Di Nenno defeated Javier Leal and Carlos Gutierrez 6-4, 6-2. Garrido said everyone who plays padel falls in love with the sport.

“I think for the players it’s really, really good because our sport is pretty new and we are trying to expand our sport all over the world,” he added. “Here in Riyadh, a lot of people like the sport and I think it’s super good for us.

“I’m sure that (padel) is going to explode, I don’t know, this year or next year but … when you play padel, when you try padel, you are going to love it.”

Among the spectators on Wednesday was Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo. The tournament is the first stop on this year’s Premier Padel World Tour and forms part of the Riyadh Season of events. The 2024 campaign tour featured 24 tournaments in 16 countries.

Padel is a racket sport most often played in doubles on a court that is slightly smaller than a tennis court, which has walls and the ball can be played off them.