Dubai P1: Coello/Tapia Withdraw as Qualifiers Topple Navarro/Di Nenno

The Dubai Premier Padel P1 has lost its last remaining heavyweights. World No. 1 pair Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia have withdrawn from the tournament on medical advice, only days after Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto pulled out. With the two dominant teams of the season both missing, and with Coello and Tapia having won the previous two editions in Dubai, the event is now guaranteed a new men's champion.

The chaos did not stop there. On Wednesday, qualifiers Manu Aragón and Albert Roglán came back from a bagel first set to knock out fourth seeds Francisco Navarro and Martin Di Nenno, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Medical advice after a draining World Cup

In a joint statement, the pair said: "We regret to announce that we will not be able to participate in the United Arab Emirates this week." They added that the decision was made together, "thinking about what was best for us," following the recommendations of their medical team.

The statement did not say which player was affected, although several outlets, including beIN Sports, reported that the problem concerns Tapia. Spanish site Padel Spain pointed to fatigue and accumulated court time. Both players have just come out of an intense FIP World Cup in Doha, where Coello helped Spain beat Tapia's Argentina in the men's final.

There was little left to defend in the rankings. Coello and Tapia had already locked up the year-end No. 1 spot for a fourth consecutive season by winning the Kuwait Major. According to Padel Magazine, they are cautiously aiming to return for the Mexico Major (23-29 November) and the Barcelona Finals (10-13 December), but no timeline has been confirmed. Their place in the draw went to a lucky loser team.

Aragón and Roglán's career night

With the favourites gone, the round of 32 belonged to the outsiders. Aragón, a 20-year-old from Málaga, and Roglán, 27, from La Ràpita, had to come through qualifying just to reach the main draw. Against Navarro and Di Nenno they were blown away 6-0 in the opening set, then, as Diari de Tarragona put it, managed to correct their errors and react. The comeback took 1 hour and 35 minutes. Padel Addict called it one of the most important wins of their careers.

For Navarro, it is a sharp comedown after the emotional scenes in Doha, where he was celebrated by his Spain teammates after the World Cup title. For the Navarro/Di Nenno partnership, it is a missed chance in a draw that had opened up completely.

The qualifiers will next face Italy's Flavio Abbate and Argentina's Franco Dal Bianco, who beat Alejandro Ruiz and Javier Garcia 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Who now leads the field?

Second seeds Juan Lebron and Leandro Augsburger are now the highest-ranked team left, and they survived a scare of their own, dropping the first set before beating Castaño and Hernández 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Fifth seeds Miguel Yanguas and Jorge Nieto also needed three sets to get past Sintes and Zamora, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Arturo Coello Praises Coach Juanjo Gutiérrez's Bold World Cup Strategy

Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz advanced after their opponents retired. Javier Leal and Francisco Guerrero, Juan Tello and Maximiliano Arce Simo, and Valentino Gabriel Libaak and Gonzalo Gabriel Alfonso all won in straight sets. Libaak and Alfonso had originally been drawn against Coello and Tapia in their opener.

In the women's draw, Marina Guinart España and Alejandra Alonso De Villa beat Jana Montes Cabruja and Marta Barrera De La Fuente 7-5, 6-2, keeping their push for a Barcelona Finals place alive. Noa Canovas Paredes and her partner Lobo thrashed Caldera and Goenaga 6-3, 6-0.

The round of 16 is played on Thursday, 12 November. The final is on Sunday, and whoever lifts the trophy will be a first-time Dubai champion.