Dubai’s newest mega sporting event, the inaugural Dubai Padel Cup – an inclusive month-long padel tennis fiesta featuring exhibition matches with the world’s leading professionals and amateur competitions open to the racquet-wielding public – is poised to elevate the city as the Middle East’s undisputed padel capital.
A headline event of this year’s Dubai Fitness Challenge, which runs 29th October – 27th November, the four-week Dubai Padel Cup will bring action to the Emirates for the first time during three days of action-packed exhibition matches on a purpose-built court in the shadows of Dubai’s iconic Museum of the Future and the Jumeirah Emirates Towers from 2nd – 4th November.
World number one Juan Lebrón Chincoa is set to lead a top-ranked international field that includes Fernando Belasteguin (world no. 6), Pablo Lima (8), Luciano Capra (14), Javier Arturo Coello (17), Garrido Gómez (18), Miguel Lamperti (20), Adrián Allemandi (22), Juan Martín Díaz (26), Jorge Nieto Ruiz (21), Juan Mieres Petruf (56), Sergio Icardo Alcorisa (114), and more. The two-person doubles teams will play four matches on each of the first two days, before finals on 4th November. Seats will be available for purchase on the Platinumlist website.
“I’m beyond excited to be heading back to Dubai for the first Dubai Padel Cup,” said Chincoa. “I’ve seen the rapid growth of the sport on my previous visits and as we have seen with Dubai’s hosting of Expo, we know the city can do anything. Dubai and padel are a perfect fit. The people of Dubai are playing more and more padel, and Dubai can help padel grow even more on the world stage – we look forward to growing the game here in the Emirates and around the world,” added the 26-year-old Spaniard.
With Dubai Fitness Challenge launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, to encourage the public to pursue active and healthy lifestyles, the Dubai Padel Cup will also feature a knockout league for amateur female and male players of C and C+ ability from 7th -13th November, and a tournament for amateur male players of A and B ability from 21st – 27thNovember.
Amateur league and tournament clashes will unfold at several Dubai-based padel clubs. World Padel Academy (WPA), one of the city’s leading padel club franchises, hosts the male-only tournament’s quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals for A and B categories.
“The Dubai Padel Cup supports the vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to establish Dubai as a global padel destination and enhance the game’s stunning popularity surge across the UAE,” said Ahmed Hamada, Co-Founder, Dubai Padel Cup. “By combining exhibition matches with the world’s best players and the first city-wide tournaments for amateurs of all abilities, the Dubai Padel Cup will showcase Dubai’s ability to host world-class sporting events, encourage active lifestyles and accelerate participation in the game at all levels. We want Dubai to be a global home of padel – and we want to have fun doing it.”
A global breakout, padel is a unique racquet sport played on an enclosed court roughly a quarter the size of a tennis court. Officially one of the world’s fastest growing sports, padel has blazed a trail of popularity across the seven Emirates. Dubai leads the region’s padel boom amid a frenzy of new facility openings driven by huge popularity across multiple age groups.
“The Dubai Padel Cup is a welcome addition to the emirate’s calendar of world-class sports and community events. As part of this year’s Dubai Fitness Challenge, we look forward to working with the Dubai Padel Club organisers and the UAE Padel Association, clubs across the city and all players to create a true padel festival as part of ongoing efforts to grow the sport,” said Saeed Hareb, General Secretary of Dubai Sports Council.
To tap into the game’s budding popularity and drive residents’ 30×30 challenges, organisers of the Dubai Padel Cup are collaborating with Dubai Fitness Challenge to provide free coaching sessions for new padel enthusiasts, giving residents a great opportunity to hone their skills and attract more local people to the game.
Ali Al Arif, Founder and Managing Director, World Padel Academy, said: “The Dubai Padel Cup is very exciting, something like this has never happened before in the Middle East. The tournament is unique and it’s coming at the right time as part of Dubai Fitness Challenge – we have an amazing opportunity to grow the sport across the Emirates. Padel is going crazy. I have no doubt it will be one of the top sports in Dubai and the UAE very soon.”
The inaugural Dubai Padel Cup has attracted a high-quality roster of marquee partners including Dubai Fitness Challenge 2021, Emirates NBD, WHOOP, Valiant Clinic and Hospital, Okadoc, Barakat, Red Bull, Fade Fit, Water WA and Palm Dream.
Moadh Rashad Bukhash, Chief Marketing Officer, Emirates NBD, added: “Padel is one of the top sports played by our employees and our customers, so we are thrilled to support the Dubai Padel Cup and the ongoing growth of the game across Dubai and the UAE. Healthy lifestyles ensure healthy societies and padel can play a huge role in fueling residents’ fitness ambitions during Dubai Fitness Challenge and all around the year.”
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