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Gemma Triay is now the most successful player in the history of women's padel. The Spaniard and her Argentine partner Delfi Brea came from a set down to beat Ari Sánchez and Andrea Ustero 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in Saturday's Kuwait Major final, giving Triay the 59th title of her career.
That total moves her one clear of Alejandra Salazar and of Sánchez herself, who both have 58. It means Triay claimed the outright record by beating one of the two players she had been sharing it with.
From 3-0 down to a 12-2 run
The opening set belonged entirely to the third seeds. Sánchez and Ustero jumped to a 3-0 lead and closed out the set 6-3, hitting 22 winners along the way, according to Argentine outlet El Neverazo.
Then the final turned completely. Triay and Brea raised the pace and intensity and won six games in a row to level the match. El Neverazo's numbers show how sharp the drop-off was on the other side of the net: Sánchez and Ustero went from 22 winners to 10, and from seven unforced errors to 13. The top seeds won the deciding set 6-1 as well, finishing the match on a 12-2 run in games.
Fatigue may have played a part. Sánchez and Ustero had reached the final the hard way, coming from a set down in the quarter-finals and then surviving a semi-final against Paula Josemaria and Beatriz González that lasted 3 hours and 44 minutes and was decided in a third-set tie-break. Triay and Brea had a long Friday too, needing 3 hours and 7 minutes and saving a match point to beat Martina Calvo and Claudia Fernández 6-4, 2-6, 7-6.
An end to a semi-final slump
The title also ended a frustrating run for the world No. 1 pair. Triay and Brea had lost four consecutive semi-finals and had not won a tournament since the Madrid P1, almost two months ago. Kuwait gives them their seventh title of 2026, their second Major of the season after Rome, and the 16th of their partnership since the start of 2025, according to EFE.
Kuwait Major: Rodríguez and Dal Pozzo Win Three-Hour Battle
They now lead their rivalry with Sánchez and Ustero 7-6, according to The Padel Report.
Rankings gap grows
The result matters for the year-end No. 1 race too. The winners collected 2,000 points and the runners-up 1,200, so Triay and Brea added roughly 800 points to their advantage. The Padel Report puts the gap at 2,780 points, with 5,000 points still available: 1,000 at the Dubai P1, 2,000 at the Mexico Major and 1,500 at the Barcelona Finals. The lead is strong, but the race is not mathematically over.
Partners become opponents
The champions now go their separate ways for a week. Triay and Brea will meet as opponents at the FIP World Cup in Doha, running from 2-7 November, with Triay playing for Spain and Brea for Argentina. Premier Padel resumes in Dubai on 8 November, where Triay will chase title number 60.
