Goñi In, Salazar Out; Guerrero & Leal Answer the Snub with Lyon Gold

Spain dropped a 7-time world champion last week.

Coaches Juanjo Gutiérrez (men) and Carolina Navarro (women) unveiled the 16-player squad for the FIP World Padel Championships in Doha (Nov 2–7). Two decisions dominated the conversation.

Men's squad: 20-year-old Aimar Goñi is in, a World No. 32 who partners Edu Alonso in his first full season on tour and plays with an aggressive overhead and no fear of the glass. Out go Fran Guerrero (#13) and Momo González (#14), both in the form of their careers.

Women's squad: Marta Ortega and 18-year-old Martina Calvo are in, while Alejandra Salazar is out. Salazar has seven world titles, turns 40 this year and retires at year-end.

The full squads, by position.

Men's revés: Alejandro Galán, Paquito Navarro, Coki Nieto, Aimar Goñi.

Men's derecha: Arturo Coello, Juan Lebrón, Mike Yanguas, Jon Sanz.

Women's revés: Gemma Triay, Ari Sánchez, Bea González, Martina Calvo.

Women's derecha: Paula Josemaría, Claudia Fernández, Andrea Ustero, Marta Ortega.

Four men from the 12-player pre-list miss out: Fran Guerrero, Javi Leal, Momo González and Pol Hernández. Among the women, Salazar is joined on the outside by Tamara Icardo, Marina Guinart and Alejandra Alonso.

"Leaving Alejandra Salazar out was very hard emotionally," Navarro said. She would have picked Ortega even if Salazar were not retiring, citing the fast Doha courts. Ortega's recent form includes five match points saved with Sofía Araújo in Paris.

Spain staged the announcement at CUPRA City Garage in Madrid, with Spain's football world champions Ferran Torres and Fabián Ruiz as guest presenters.

Carolina Navarro saw the brief clearly: fast indoor glass, counter-attacking rallies, a squad built for speed over seniority. Spain have not won the men's world title since Doha 2021. The women are defending champions and chasing a tenth.

Then Fran Guerrero and Javi Leal walked onto a court in Lyon.

Sunday's FIP Platinum final was more than a result. Guerrero and Leal, fresh from their omission, lined up against top seeds Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz, the man who took Guerrero's spot in Doha. They lost the opening set 4-6, then came back to win 6-4, 6-1.

It was their second Platinum title of 2026 and their fourth final of the year, and the scoreline needs no commentary.

Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga completed a dominant week on the women's side. They took the Lyon title without dropping a single set all week, beating Martina Fassio and Águeda Pérez 6-1 6-3 in the final.

Spain's squad is set for Doha, which starts November 2, and between now and then Guerrero and Leal will keep making the case they made on Sunday in Lyon.

Sources: MARCA, Padel FIP, Tennis Tonic