González & Cabeza Set Up Family QF Clash at London P1

A double shift that shook the draw

When the London P1 main draw opened at Olympia earlier this week, few tipped Mariano González and Curro Cabeza Teres to still be standing come Friday's quarterfinals. On Thursday they proved everyone wrong in spectacular fashion, winning two matches in a single day to claim a place in the last eight — and their reward is a date with world No. 1 Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello. The draw carries a twist that padel rarely produces: Curro Cabeza is Arturo Coello's brother-in-law.

Two wins, including the Pretoria finalists

González and Cabeza opened their London campaign against Fran Guerrero and Javi Leal, who had contested the Pretoria P1 final just three days earlier before losing to Galán and Chingotto in a match-point thriller. Arriving in London as one of the most in-form pairs on tour, they found no sentiment from the younger side. The score — 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 — told the story of a tight but ultimately decisive win for the underdogs.

Later the same evening, González and Cabeza returned to court for the round of eight. They dispatched seventh-seeded Juan Cruz Belluati and Ignacio Piotto in three sets to seal their place in the quarterfinals. Two wins, two different opponents, one unforgettable Thursday. Both victories were ground out under pressure, which is precisely why the pair carries momentum into Friday.

Paraguay writes its name into Premier Padel history

Mariano González, from the city of Encarnación in the Itapúa department of Paraguay, is now the first player from his country ever to reach the quarterfinal of a Premier Padel P1 event. The Paraguayan padel community has been watching his rise closely for some time — local sports outlet D10 described him as a "gem of world padel" — and Thursday's results at Olympia give that assessment fresh weight.

González and Cabeza have been partners since the second quarter of 2026 and had already shown P1-level potential by reaching the semifinals of the FIP Gold event in Almaty as fifth seeds. What they achieved on Thursday is a step beyond that, in a tournament that counts among the most high-profile of the entire season. Cabeza, born in Marbella and still only 18, won the junior world championship before stepping up to the professional circuit.

The family match — and the full QF draw

The quarterfinal storyline almost writes itself. Coello and Tapia reached Thursday's last eight by defeating José Jiménez and Álex Arroyo 7–6(3), 6–4. They will arrive at centre court as clear favourites. But González and Cabeza, having already knocked out the Pretoria finalists before noon on their most demanding day in professional padel, will step on to the same glass box with nothing to fear — and quite possibly something to prove in front of Cabeza's own family.

The three other men's quarterfinals complete a high-quality draw. Pretoria P1 champions Federico Chingotto and Alejandro Galán face Momo González and Lucas Campagnolo. Martín Di Nenno and Paquito Navarro go up against Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi, who earlier this week eliminated fourth-seeded Yanguas and Stupaczuk. Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger, runners-up in Málaga earlier this year, take on Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz. All men's quarterfinals begin at 10:00 am at Olympia London, with live coverage on Red Bull TV.