Kuwait Major: Sánchez/Ustero and Triay/Brea Survive Semi-Final Marathons

The women's semi-finals at the inaugural Kuwait Major delivered almost seven hours of padel on Friday, and when the dust settled the final was the one many had predicted: Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea against Ariana Sánchez and Andrea Ustero. Neither pair got there easily. Sánchez and Ustero needed roughly three hours and 43 minutes to overturn Paula Josemaría and Beatriz González 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, while Triay and Brea had to save a match point before edging Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo 6-4, 2-6, 7-6.

Sánchez and Ustero refuse to go away

For long stretches, the first semi-final looked as though it belonged to Josemaría and González. They raced into a 5-1 lead in the opening set and closed it out 6-4, with Josemaría finding the cross-court angles that have made her one of the most dangerous players on the tour. When they then went 3-0 up in the second set, a straight-sets win seemed close.

Sánchez and Ustero, however, held their nerve. They clawed their way back into the set, forced a tie-break and took it 7-5 to level the match. The decider turned into a scrappy, high-tension affair dominated by breaks of serve, according to reports from Spanish outlets, and once again it went to a tie-break. Sánchez and Ustero moved ahead early, saw Josemaría and González fight back, and eventually closed it 7-4.

The win puts the Catalan pair into their third Major final of the season, as reported by PadelSpain. It also extends a rivalry that has become one of the defining storylines of 2026: Sánchez and Ustero already beat Josemaría and González in a marathon semi-final in Rome earlier this year, a match that lasted more than four hours.

Triay and Brea escape against Fernández and Calvo

The second semi-final was barely shorter, at around three hours and seven minutes. The top seeds controlled the first set 6-4, but Fernández and Calvo raised their intensity in the second and levelled with a commanding 6-2. In the third set, the challengers held a match point and were one shot away from a first Major final together. They could not convert it, and Triay and Brea, leaning on their experience in big moments, took the deciding tie-break 7-3.

According to PadelSpain, it is Triay and Brea's first final in 55 days, a notable drought for a pair that has spent much of the season at the top of the standings.

World Cup: Spain Sweep Paraguay and Britain as Ari and Paula Reunite

What is at stake on Saturday

The final is a rematch of the Rome Major title match, which Triay and Brea won 6-1, 7-5. The overall head-to-head between the two pairs is level at 6-6, according to PadelSpain, so Saturday will also decide who edges ahead in one of the tour's most balanced rivalries.

The bigger prize, though, is in the Race to the Premier Padel Finals in Barcelona. According to Padel Addict, a win for Sánchez and Ustero would cut their deficit to Triay and Brea to 1,180 points, while a title for Triay and Brea would stretch the gap to 2,780 points with the season entering its final stretch.

Both pairs will also have to recover quickly: each spent well over three hours on court on Friday. The women's final is scheduled for 16:00 CET on the central court in Kuwait, ahead of the men's final between Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia and Juan Tello and Maximiliano Arce, which will start no earlier than 19:00 CET.