World Cup: Spain's Women Concede Two Games in 3-0 Rout of Germany

Spain's women began the defence of their world title exactly as the rest of the field feared they might. On the opening day of the FIP World Cup in Doha, the reigning champions beat Germany 3-0 in Group A and conceded just two games across all three matches, the most lopsided result of the women's first round.

The tie at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex never looked like a contest. Over six sets, Germany won two games. Spain's captain Carolina Navarro, who was world number one for nine years before moving to the bench, could hardly have asked for a cleaner start to the week.

Three pairs, two games conceded

Claudia Fernández and Bea González, who won the Premier Padel Tour Finals together last December, beat Kurz and Blaschke 6-0, 6-1. Paula Josemaría and Martina Calvo followed with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Renic and Höfer.

The most emphatic scoreline came from Gemma Triay and Marta Ortega, who beat Ermann and Schmitz 6-0, 6-0. The pairing reunites the duo who won the first women's Premier Padel tournament in Rome in 2023, and it comes only days after Triay won the Kuwait Major with Delfina Brea, the title that made her the most decorated player in women's padel history.

Navarro's selection reflects the depth Spain has at the top of the women's game. The World Cup splits the regular tour pairs, and Spain can still put three pairs on court made up entirely of players from the upper reaches of the Premier Padel rankings.

The rest of the women's first day

Spain's main rival for top spot in Group A looks to be Brazil, who beat Great Britain 3-0. Brazil needed a deciding set in the third match, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, to complete the sweep. In Group B, Argentina beat Chile 3-0 without dropping a set. Virginia Riera and Julieta Bidahorria won 6-0, 6-1, and 16-year-old Victoria Vílchez also contributed to the sweep.

The tightest tie of the day came in the same group, where France beat Belgium 2-1. In Group C, Italy swept Egypt 3-0 and Sweden beat Indonesia. In Group D, Portugal edged the United States 2-1, with Sofia Araujo and Patri Ribeiro winning their match 6-0, 6-0, and the Netherlands beat Paraguay 3-0.

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What comes next

The format leaves little margin for a slow start. Each group has four teams, and the top two in each go through to the quarter-finals, which begin on Thursday, 5 November. The remaining teams play for places nine to 16. The semi-finals are on 6 November and both world titles are decided on Saturday, 7 November.

Spain's men are also through their first test. They beat Sweden 3-0, although Aimar Goñi and Mike Yanguas needed three sets to win their match. The men lost the 2024 final to Argentina and are chasing the title Spain's women already hold.

On day two, Spain's women face Great Britain in the 14:00 local-time session, and Brazil meet Germany in the other Group A tie. Another win for Navarro's team would leave them one step from the quarter-finals before the group closes on Wednesday.