Lyon Platinum QF Day: Upsets Fire Up a Wide-Open Draw

The FIP Platinum Lyon reaches its quarterfinal stage on Friday, September 25, with eight pairs in each draw still alive at the Palais des Sports de Gerland. Upsets earlier in the week have thrown the bottom half of the men's bracket wide open, and with 300 Race to Barcelona Finals points on offer for the winner, every match carries title-race weight.

Leygue and Moya: the week's standout story

French-Spanish wild-card pair Thomas Leygue and Jesús Moya have been the most pleasant surprise of the week in Lyon. They opened their tournament by beating Miguel Lamperti and Octavio Álvarez in a tight three-setter — 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 — before producing a more commanding performance in the round of 16 to eliminate sixth seeds Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi. Alonso and Goñi had reached the Paris Major quarterfinals just weeks earlier and were considered legitimate dark-horse contenders for the title; their exit has unlocked a significant portion of the draw.

Leygue and Moya now face Momo González and Lucas Campagnolo in Friday's evening session — a match that is far from straightforward, but one the Franco-Spanish duo will approach with growing confidence after their run to this stage.

Stupaczuk and Sanz step in as top seeds

Top seeds Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz — who earlier this season took the FIP Gold Belgrade title together — have been granted a direct entry into the quarterfinals by virtue of their seeding. Their afternoon match against Juani Rubini and Álex Chozas is the marquee men's fixture of the day. Stupaczuk and Sanz lead the Race to Barcelona Finals standings; a further deep run here would push them closer to a first-place finish in the Race, which still has several events remaining before the November cut-off.

The third men's quarterfinal on the programme sees Álvaro Montiel and Daniel Santigosa take on Fran Guerrero and Javi Leal. Both pairs come into the match with momentum from strong performances in the round of 16.

Women's bracket — Salazar faces Collombon test

The women's draw has its own headline clash: top seeds Alejandra Salazar and Aranza Osoro face No. 7 pair Alix Collombon and Ksenia Sharifova. Collombon and Sharifova have needed three sets in each of their last two matches and have yet to play a clean, dominant performance this week — but their ability to survive difficult situations is itself a warning sign for Salazar and Osoro. The French-Kazakh pairing defeated Louise Bahurel and Ivet Val López 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in the round of 16 after a shaky middle set.

Three other women's quarterfinals round out the schedule: Lucía Sainz and Letizia Manquillo versus Alejandra Alonso and Giulia Dal Pozzo, Lorena Rufo and Jessica Castelló against Martina Fassio and Águeda Pérez, and Giorgia Marchetti and Lara Arruabarrena facing Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga. The latter match is one of the more evenly balanced on paper.

Schedule and Race implications

Friday's sessions run from midday at the Palais des Sports de Gerland, with the full card expected to conclude in the evening. Live streaming of all courts is available on the FIP YouTube channel. The four men's and four women's winners advance to Saturday's semifinals (September 26), with the final held on Sunday, September 27.

For the Race to Barcelona, Lyon's 300 points for the winner represent one of the largest single-event hauls remaining in the 2026 calendar. Stupaczuk and Sanz on the men's side and Salazar and Osoro on the women's side have the most to gain — or lose — depending on how their Friday matches unfold.