Milano P1: Icardo retires as Düsseldorf semi-final line-up repeats

The women's semi-finals at the Milano Premier Padel P1 will look exactly like last week's in Düsseldorf. All four leading pairs came through Friday's quarter-finals at the Allianz Cloud. The day's headline, though, was Tamara Icardo, who retired after one set in her first tournament back from injury.

Icardo puts her recovery first

Icardo and Claudia Jensen faced the top-ranked pair, Paula Josemaría and Beatriz González. The opening set went 6-1 to Josemaría and González. Icardo then decided not to continue, and the match ended after 38 minutes.

According to Spanish outlet PadelSpain, Icardo felt she was not yet fit enough to compete at the highest level in her comeback event. She chose to protect her recovery rather than risk making the injury worse. It is a frustrating exit for a player whose return had been closely followed, but it also suggests a longer-term view. For Josemaría and González, it meant a short day and fresh legs for Saturday.

Triay and Brea pushed to a tie-break

Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea had the longest women's match of the day. They took the first set 6-2 against Jimena Velasco and Raquel Eugenio, but the younger pair grew in confidence and forced a second-set tie-break. Triay and Brea won it 7-4. Velasco and Eugenio still leave Milan with credit, having knocked out Marina Guinart and Alejandra Alonso earlier in the week.

Ariana Sánchez and Andrea Ustero beat Alejandra Salazar and Aranzazu Osoro 6-4, 6-3. The first set was closely contested before the Catalan pair took clear control in the second. The match carried extra meaning after Sánchez revealed this week that Salazar was the only player she had called about reuniting when Ustero was injured.

Fernández and Calvo stay red-hot

The most one-sided quarter-final belonged to the Düsseldorf champions. Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo beat Marta Ortega and Sofía Araújo 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour and controlled play from the opening games. Ortega and Araújo never found a way into the match. Last Sunday in Germany they beat Sánchez and Ustero 6-3, 6-0 in the final to win their second title as a pair.

Saturday's semi-finals

The line-up repeats Düsseldorf exactly:

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Triay / Brea vs Sánchez / Ustero: Sánchez and Ustero will want to bounce back after their heavy defeat in the German final.

Josemaría / González vs Fernández / Calvo: the top seeds against the in-form champions in a rematch of last week's semi-final.

Play at the Allianz Cloud starts on Saturday, 17 October, at 14:00 Spanish time, with the men's semi-finals on the same schedule. The matches are streamed on Premier Padel's official platforms. Fernández and Calvo are trying to win back-to-back titles, and the other three pairs are all trying to stop them.