Taranto Day 2: Mixed Doubles Debuts as Spain's Top Seeds Enter

Three disciplines, one historic stage

After a packed opening day in Taranto on Saturday, the padel competition at the XX Mediterranean Games widens its scope on Sunday 23 August as the mixed doubles event makes its official debut at Parco Mediterraneo Salinella. Twelve pairs from across the Mediterranean basin will contest the mixed draw between now and 28 August, adding a third medal discipline to an already landmark occasion for the sport.

The men's and women's draws also continue in earnest on Day 2, with the top seeds — who received first-round byes — entering the competition for the first time. In the men's bracket, Spain's Guillermo Collado and Pol Hernández arrive as the pair to beat. The duo have been among the CUPRA FIP Tour's most consistent performers throughout 2026 and carry the weight of Spanish expectations onto what is padel's biggest multi-sport stage yet.

On the women's side, Spain's Lucía Sainz and Patricia Llaguno — two former world number ones who have taken different paths back to the elite level — step onto court as joint favourites for gold. Italy's Orsi and Marchetti, competing in front of a passionate home crowd at the Salinella venue, represent the most serious threat to Spanish dominance in the women's draw according to the FIP's pre-tournament assessment.

Egypt, Monaco and Tunisia set the tone on Day 1

Saturday's opening sessions delivered exactly the colour that padel's Mediterranean Games organisers had hoped for. Egypt and Monaco both celebrated victories in the first-round matches, underscoring that the sport has genuine depth across the region. Perhaps the most emotional moment of the day came when Tunisia's Mehdi Elloumi and Mohamed Aziz Helali defeated Greece's pair, marking the first time Tunisia had ever competed at an international padel event. "Being here is something special" was the phrase echoing around the Salinella courts as smaller nations embraced a debut that no previous generation of their players had experienced.

Kosovo's players also made their competitive bow on the Mediterranean stage, continuing a journey that illustrates how rapidly padel has expanded across Southern and Eastern Europe in recent years. In total, 18 nations and 88 athletes are competing across the three disciplines, with matches broadcast live across 244 countries and territories.

Mixed doubles: the third chapter opens

The addition of the mixed event on Sunday completes padel's full Mediterranean Games picture. Portugal's Sofia Araújo, ranked inside the FIP top ten, is among the leading figures in the mixed draw, as is Italy's Giulia Dal Pozzo, a player whose consistency in 2026 has made her a focal point for the home crowd. The mixed competition runs through to 28 August, with the format structured to deliver medals in all three categories during the closing days of the tournament.

The quarter-finals for men's and women's are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, 25–26 August, with semi-finals on Thursday 27 August. The gold medals will be decided on 28–29 August at the Salinella, making the final stretch the biggest days in padel's multi-sport history.

Spain's sweep ambition

With Collado and Hernández bypassing Saturday's opening round, their Day 2 entry will be one of the most closely watched moments of Sunday's programme. Spain arrives in Taranto as the pre-eminent force in world padel, and a sweep of all three gold medals — men's, women's and mixed — would represent an extraordinary milestone for the national federation. The capacity crowd at Salinella, rooting for Italy across every match, will have something to say about that ambition over the next six days.