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The first big upset of the Premier Padel Dubai P1 came on Tuesday at the Hamdan Sports Complex. Lorena Rufo and Victoria Iglesias beat eighth seeds Alejandra Salazar and Aranzazu Osoro 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in the opening round of the women's main draw. With only two regular-season events left before the Premier Padel Finals in Barcelona, the loss could prove costly for Salazar and Osoro.
A rematch that went the same way
This was not a first meeting. In August, Rufo and Iglesias came from a set down to beat Salazar and Osoro 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the FIP Gold in Belgrade, their first title as a pair. In Dubai they started faster. They took the opening set 6-3, Salazar and Osoro hit back to win the second 6-2, and Rufo and Iglesias then pulled away in the decider to take it 6-2.
Spanish outlet PadelSpain called the win a result that "tightens the fight for the Finals". AnalistasPadel said the early exit leaves Salazar and Osoro's place in Barcelona in danger. The match was played on the first day of the main draw, while most of the top seeds were still resting after the FIP World Cup in Doha.
Why the Finals race matters now
The Premier Padel Finals take place in Barcelona from 10 to 13 December 2026, and the top 16 players in the season standings qualify. According to PadelAddict's race table published before the first ball was hit in Dubai, Salazar was 15th with 2,975 points. Verónica Virseda held the 16th and final qualifying spot with 2,765. Osoro was among the players just below the cut, along with names such as Nuria Rodríguez, Giulia Dal Pozzo and Beatriz Caldera.
That makes Salazar's margin of about 200 points very fragile. Virseda did her own chances no harm on Tuesday. She and Martina Fassio beat Alix Collombon and Ksenia Sharifova 6-2, 7-5 to reach the next round. After Dubai, the only event left is the GNP Mexico Major in Acapulco, from 23 to 29 November. Salazar and Osoro now have to make up ground there.
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The rest of day one
Elsewhere in the women's draw, Jessica Castelló and María Eulalia Rodríguez came back from a set down to beat Lucía Martínez and Araceli Martínez 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Lucía Sainz and Letizia Manquillo recovered from losing the first set 1-6 against Virginia Riera and Julieta Bidahorria and won 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Qualifiers Marta Arellano and Victoria Kurz also went through.
In the men's round of 32, Marc Sintes and Coquito Zamora beat Maximiliano Sánchez and Lucho Capra 6-2, 6-4. Leonel Aguirre and Pablo Lijó lost only four games against Nacho Vilariño and Mario del Castillo. Alex Chozas and Juani Rubini won 6-2, 6-4. Manuel Aragón and Albert Roglán had the longest day, getting past Javier Valdés and Renzo Núñez in three sets that included two tie-breaks.
Seeds enter on Wednesday
The round of 16 starts on Wednesday, 11 November, and that is when the top seeds play their first matches, four days after the World Cup final in Doha. With Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto out because of Galán's hand injury, Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia head the men's draw. Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea are the women's top seeds, ahead of Paula Josemaría and Beatriz González. Rufo and Iglesias, meanwhile, already have the upset that could change the shape of the Barcelona field.
