Belgrade QF Day: Stupaczuk-Sanz Debut and Nieto-Yanguas Reunion Headline

While Taranto stages padel's first Mediterranean Games finals, the FIP Gold Belgrade is entering its decisive phase at Belgrade Waterfront. Quarter-finals day falls on Friday 28 August, with semi-finals to follow on Saturday and the championship matches on Sunday — all of them live on the FIP YouTube channel. Two storylines in the men's draw are driving most of the pre-match conversation: a brand-new partnership and a famous reunion.

Stupaczuk and Sanz: A Partnership Making Its Quarter-Final Debut

Franco Stupaczuk (FIP world ranking 7) and Jon Sanz (ranking 12) are playing together as a pair for the first time at this event. The combination was eyebrow-raising when it was announced — both players are established names who have reached finals and won titles with previous partners — and Belgrade is their first competitive outing together under match conditions. They enter the quarter-finals as the second seed and face Jurado and García Calahorro. A strong run would validate the pairing immediately; an early exit would raise questions about whether the chemistry is there. With three rounds still to play this week, they have limited time to find their groove.

Nieto and Yanguas: Reunited and Dangerous

Top seeds Coki Nieto (ranking 8) and Mike Yanguas (ranking 10) are a different proposition. This pairing has history — they played together during the 2025 season and know each other's game in detail. Their reunion at Belgrade has looked sharp in the early rounds: a 6-1, 6-1 opening win set the tone before a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the round of sixteen. The quarter-final against Zurita and Rivas is where the path genuinely narrows. A clash with Stupaczuk and Sanz in the semi-finals is possible if both pairs advance.

Women's Draw: Collombon Faces Rufo-Iglesias

The women's draw is equally competitive. Ale Salazar and Aranzazu Osoro — top seeds and the pair with the most FIP Platinum final appearances in 2026 — open their quarter-final against Las Heras and Kucheriavaia. The most watched match of the women's rounds is likely to be Alix Collombon and Ksenia Sharifova (fifth seeds) against Lorena Rufo and Victoria Iglesias (second seeds). Collombon — a consistent presence in the upper reaches of FIP draws throughout 2026 — has been in strong form since her run in Espoo. Two other quarter-finals pit Borrero and Navarro against Barrera and Montes, and Talavan and Castelló against Kurz and Ortiz.

The fourth men's quarter-final pits Javi Ruiz and Pineda against Alex Ruiz and García, adding a Spain-heavy flavour to a Belgrade draw that already features four Spanish pairings in the last eight. Semi-finals follow on Saturday, with the championship matches and full prize distribution concluding on Sunday at the Belgrade Waterfront — a facility that FIP has described as the largest purpose-built padel venue in Southeast Europe to date.