Key Takeaways
- With his club staging the FIP Silver Lisboa Padel Racket Centre by Ava CR7, Cristiano Ronaldo posted “Great tournament to everyone” on social media.
- Victory in Lisbon with Fabian Oviedo would give Italian top seed Marco Cassetta a record 17th CUPRA FIP Tour title, moving him clear at the top of the all-time list.
- Across the men’s and women’s competitions, 51 Portuguese players will take part in the main draw, which runs from Thursday, 10 September through Saturday, 12 September.
CUPRA FIP Tour arrives at Ronaldo’s Lisbon venue
International stars and leading home players have gathered in Lisbon for the CUPRA FIP Tour’s FIP Silver Lisboa Padel Racket Centre by Ava CR7. By hosting the competition at his club, football great Cristiano Ronaldo has again placed his enthusiasm for padel in the spotlight.
A regular visitor to Premier Padel tournaments, Ronaldo also trained with world No. 1 Arturo Coello in Madrid in September 2024. He has previously said in an interview that he plans to devote more time to padel after ending his football career. On the eve of the competition, the Portuguese star expressed his excitement on social media by posting “Great tournament to everyone”.
Home hopefuls chase success in Portugal
There are 25 Portuguese men and 26 Portuguese women in the field, with the home contingent including Pedro Perry alongside recent FIP Silver Cordoba champion Jaume Romera, Diogo Jesus and Antonio Luque as a partnership, and Portugal’s highest-ranked woman, Clarinha Santos. Pedro Araujo and Pedro Graça lead the Portuguese challenge in the men’s draw as the second seeds. Their season already includes titles at the FIP Bronze Portimao and February’s FIP Bronze Madeira in Funchal, the birthplace of Ronaldo. Araujo also recently won mixed gold with his sister Sofia at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto.
Cassetta eyes outright tour title record
After winning two tournaments in the past two months, Marco Cassetta and Fabian Oviedo arrive in Lisbon as the leading men’s seeds. The Italian-Argentine pairing captured the FIP Silver Jersey Island in the United Kingdom and the FIP Bronze Lelystad in the Netherlands. Cassetta also took bronze at the Mediterranean Games and is tied with Flavio Abbate, Gonzalo Rubio and Jose Luis Gonzalez on a record 16 CUPRA FIP Tour titles. Lifting the Lisbon trophy would move him alone to the top with 17 victories. Fourth-seeded Spaniards Iago Fuertes and Dani Luna are another significant threat.
| Player | CUPRA FIP Tour titles |
|---|---|
| Marco Cassetta | 16 |
| Flavio Abbate | 16 |
| Gonzalo Rubio | 16 |
| Jose Luis Gonzalez | 16 |
Leading women’s pairs headline the draw
Fresh from reaching the round of 32 at the Premier Padel P1 in Madrid and winning the FIP Bronze Madrid in late August, Amanda Lopez and Camila Fassio lead the women’s draw. The top-seeded Spaniards occupy No. 51 and No. 65 in the FIP Ranking, respectively, while Maria Teresa Moriñigo and Blanca Cerrejon are seeded second. Portugal’s Santos teams up with Lucia Parra as the third seeds, and Mediterranean Games mixed bronze medalists Ivet Val Lopez and Louise Bahurel are also leading trophy contenders.
The main draw gets underway on Thursday, 10 September, with both the semi-finals and finals set for Saturday, 12 September.
