Greece Double Up as Madrid WC Qualifier Reaches Final Group Day

Greece lead the field after two perfect days

Two days into the FIP World Cup 2026 European Qualifier at Padel G24 in Madrid, Greece have set themselves apart as the form team of the tournament. The Greek sides claimed 3-0 victories in both the men's and women's draws on Days 1 and 2, giving them maximum points at the top of their respective groups heading into Thursday's decisive final group-stage session. Action begins from 9am local time today, with nineteen matches across women's and men's programmes determining which teams advance to the knockout phase that begins Friday.

The stakes are clear: four berths at the FIP World Cup 2026 in Doha are available to European nations from this event — two for the men and two for the women. Those spots will be played out in knockout rounds on Friday and Saturday, with the finalists earning passage to the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex from November 2–7, where a record €1.2 million prize fund awaits across 16 men's and 16 women's national teams.

Germany and Great Britain: strong starts, more to do

Germany arrived in Madrid as one of the favourites and delivered on Day 1 with 3-0 wins in both categories — the women defeating Hungary, the men dispatching Georgia. Great Britain matched that performance: the women beat Norway 3-0 and the men overcame Austria by the same margin. According to FIP's Day 1 report, Denmark also made a convincing start with a 3-0 victory in the women's draw against the Czech Republic.

Day 2 kept those nations in contention, though the Croatian women stole headlines by posting a second consecutive 3-0 win — now sitting among the group leaders alongside Germany and Greece. In the men's section, Denmark, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia and Austria all registered 3-0 results on Day 2, illustrating the competitive depth across a 27-team draw that represents the biggest field in the event's history.

Estonia upsets Azerbaijan in the standout Day 2 result

The most significant Day 2 moment in the men's draw came in Group A, where Estonia defeated Azerbaijan to vault into a share of the group lead alongside the Netherlands. Both sides now hold three points, meaning today's direct head-to-head will function as a group decider — the first knockout-style moment of the week. An Estonia victory would rank among the qualifier's biggest surprises and confirm the rapid spread of competitive padel into northern and eastern Europe.

Today's key matches and what happens next

The women's programme opens at 9am with eight matches. Among them, Germany vs Türkiye and Great Britain vs Serbia — both in groups where the top spot is not yet mathematically settled — stand out as the most consequential fixtures of the morning. Ten men's matches follow from noon, after which all group standings are confirmed and the bracket for Friday's knockout rounds is set.

Teams already holding direct invitations to the Doha World Cup — including Spain, Argentina, Italy, France, Sweden, Brazil, Chile and hosts Qatar — are not competing in Madrid. The Asia-Africa qualifier in Kuwait (October 26–30) will award the final two available berths. Live scoring for today's matches is available on padelfip.com, and all centre-court matches are streamed on the FIP YouTube channel.