Egypt Topple Spain's Top Seeds to Reach Taranto QF

The 2026 Mediterranean Games padel tournament delivered a landmark upset on Day 3 as Egypt's Youssef Hossam and Georges Wakim defeated Spain's top-seeded pair Pol Hernandez and Guille Collado 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 at Parco Mediterraneo Salinella in Taranto — earning a quarter-final place in the discipline's historic debut at the Games.

A Two-Hour Battle on the Central Court

Hossam and Wakim entered the match as heavy underdogs against Hernandez and Collado, a pairing ranked No. 33 and No. 37 in the FIP world rankings and among the form pairs on the 2026 circuit after a run of consecutive FIP titles. Over the course of two hours the Egyptian duo turned the match on its head. They secured the decisive break at 4-4 in the first set to take it 6-4, before Spain levelled by winning the second. The third set reached 5-4 in Spain's favour — with a match point in their hands — but Hossam and Wakim saved it and reeled off three straight games to close out 7-5.

It ranks among the more striking results in recent padel history at a multi-sport Games: a pair ranked outside the world's top 300 knocking out the tournament's number one seeds in straight sets on the Central Court.

Italy and France Set Their 'Clásico'

While Egypt were producing their shock on the show court, both Italian men's pairs advanced to set up what the FIP is billing as the men's quarter-final of the tournament. Cassetta and Iacovino beat Morocco's Alami and El Amrani 6-4, 6-4, while Abbate and Montiel were dominant against Albania's Curri and Naska, 6-1, 6-0. Abbate and Montiel's reward is a quarter-final against France's Bastien Blanqué and Dylan Guichard — who dismissed Monaco's Fedoroff and Minioni 6-2, 6-2. Spain retain a second pair in the draw: José Diestro and David Gala advanced from Day 2 and keep a Spanish medal chance alive in the men's event despite the elimination of the top seeds.

Women's Quarter-Finals Open Today

Day 4 at Taranto (Tuesday, 25 August) brings the opening rounds of the women's quarter-finals, with Portugal and Italy entering in strong form after both nations moved through their final group matches with ease. Spain's Lucía Sainz and Patty Llaguno, who won their Day 2 match 6-0, 6-1, remain the favourites heading into the knockout stage. The mixed doubles bracket also continues to narrow as Slovenia, Kosovo, Cyprus and Greece take on the higher-seeded pairs.

Quarter-Finals, Semis and Super Friday

The full knockout schedule runs across Tuesday and Wednesday 26 August for the quarter-finals, Thursday 27 for the semi-finals, and Friday 28 August — labelled "Super Friday" by the organisers — for bronze matches and all three medal finals. Eighteen nations are competing across the three events at this first-ever Mediterranean Games padel competition, reaching 244 countries and territories via Eurovision Sport's live stream.

Egypt's victory carries weight beyond the scoreboard. Georges Wakim, Egypt's number one player, has spoken publicly about the sport's rapid growth at home, describing an "exponential" expansion in the padel community over recent years. A quarter-final at the Mediterranean Games is exactly the sort of platform that accelerates that trajectory — and Hossam and Wakim still have more matches to play before Friday's medal session.