Taranto Draw Eve: Spain, Italy and France Set for Padel History

The ceremony that sets the brackets for padel's inaugural Mediterranean Games medals takes place at Taranto's Parco Mediterraneo Salinella on Thursday 21 August, with competition opening the following day. Eighty-eight athletes from 18 nations will contest men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles between 22 and 28 August. A single-elimination format with best-of-three sets and Star Point scoring applies across all three events.

The competing nations are Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia, Türkiye and Athletica Vaticana. FIP rankings at the moment of Thursday's draw determine the seedings, meaning the critical question — whether Spain and Italy end up on opposite halves of the bracket — will only be answered after tomorrow's ceremony.

Spain: eight players inside the global top 50

No nation arrives in Taranto with comparable squad depth. Spain's women's contingent is led by Lucía Sainz and Patty Llaguno, both former world number ones who remain inside the global top 25. Jimena Velasco (world 29) and Nuria Rodríguez (world 25) complete the four-player squad. On the men's side, David Gala (world 34, born 2006), Pol Hernández (world 35), Guille Collado (world 36) and José Diestro (world 45) are all within the global top 50, making Spain the favourite across every event bracket.

Italy's home-court edge

Playing in front of their own crowd at Salinella, Italy count on Giulia Dal Pozzo (world 30) and Carolina Orsi (world 31) as their top women's pairing, alongside Giorgia Marchetti and Carlotta Casali. Marco Cassetta anchors the men's draw. Home advantage in a padel venue — where crowd noise and familiarity with the environment can influence tight third-set moments — gives the hosts a real edge in close encounters. Italy's women, in particular, are well-placed to mount a serious challenge to Spain if the two sides meet in the final.

France, Portugal and the wider field

France enters with Bastien Blanqué and Dylan Guichard heading the men's draw and Louise Bahurel and Lucile Pothier leading the women's team; all four carry European team-competition experience. Portugal's challenge rests on two family partnerships: Miguel Deus and Nuno Deus, who took silver at the 2025 FIP Euro Padel Cup in Spain, and Pedro Araújo alongside Pedro Graça, a European title-holder. Ana Catarina Nogueira pairs with Sofia Araújo — Pedro's sister — in the women's bracket.

The wider field includes several notable storylines. Egypt and Kosovo each bring eight athletes, the two largest delegations outside the traditional padel-playing nations. Tunisia's Dora Chamli is the first African player to have won a match on the Premier Padel world circuit. Monaco fields Noah Minioni, born in 2009 and the youngest competitor across the entirety of the 2026 Mediterranean Games.

The road to Super Friday

Men's and women's first rounds open on 22 August; the mixed draw joins from 23 August. Quarter-finals are scheduled for 25–26 August, semi-finals on 27 August. The decisive day — dubbed Super Friday — falls on 28 August, when bronze medal matches precede the mixed, women's and men's finals in succession, crowning padel's first Mediterranean Games champions. Thursday's draw at Salinella will determine which paths lead there.