Paraguay and Argentina Share South American Games Padel Gold

Men's Final: Paraguay Edge Argentina to Claim Inaugural Gold

Padel's first gold-medal finals at a South American Games took place in Santa Fe on Friday 25 September, and both finals lived up to the historic occasion. In the men's event, Paraguay's Martín Abud and Facundo Dehnike were crowned inaugural champions after defeating Argentina's Santino Contreras and Ignacio Piotto 6-4, 7-6(5).

The Paraguayan pair were the more composed side from the outset. They broke early and controlled the first set to take it 6-4, then held their nerve when Argentina levelled in the second and forced a tiebreak. Abud and Dehnike closed it out 7-5 in the breaker to seal an unbeaten run through the tournament. The pair had previously beaten Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Chile en route to the final, dropping no sets along the way. The Paraguayan Olympic Committee confirmed the victory was among the highlights of the nation's campaign at Santa Fe 2026, where Paraguay finished with nine gold medals across all sports.

Women's Final: Vilchez and Mosca Deliver a Commanding Performance

Argentina turned the disappointment of the men's silver into a women's gold with a dominant display. Vilchez and Mosca beat Chile's Kimberley Ahumada and Catalina Arancibia 6-2, 6-3 in a match that was never close. The Argentine pair set the pace from the first game, dictating play on both sides of the net and converting their chances cleanly throughout.

Chile made the second set more competitive than the opener, but Vilchez and Mosca never allowed them to threaten a comeback. The title was sealed in under 80 minutes. Argentina finished the padel events with one gold and one silver from two events, while Chile claimed silver in the women's draw.

A Milestone Weekend for the Sport

The XIII South American Games in Santa Fe mark padel's debut as a medal discipline at the competition. Eight nations took part across the men's and women's draws, with sixteen pairs competing from 22 September onwards. The International Padel Federation described the gold-medal finals as "primeras medallas históricas" — the first historic medals for padel at these Games.

The results arrive at a particularly busy stretch of the national-team calendar. In just two days, padel makes its Asian Games debut at the Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan, with competition running from 28 September to 3 October. Later in the year, 32 national teams — 16 men's and 16 women's — will gather in Doha for the FIP World Cup from 2-7 November 2026. Argentina has already qualified in both categories and announced its 16-player squad on 24 September.

For Paraguay, the men's gold in Santa Fe marks a landmark result for a programme that has been growing on the South American circuit. Whether Abud and Dehnike can carry that momentum into the FIP World Cup picture remains to be seen — the Asia-Africa qualifying phase in Kuwait, scheduled for 26-30 October, will complete the field for Doha.