Lamperti & Gutiérrez Deliver for Argentina; Spain Women Make it Four Straight
Argentina were 1-2 down with the Senior World Cup slipping away in front of a home crowd.
Two men had been here before. Miguel Lamperti and Cristian Gutiérrez had spent decades defining Argentine padel. On Sunday evening in Buenos Aires, Argentina needed them to save it.
They did.
Lamperti and Gutiérrez stepped out for the deciding fifth rubber in the +45 category. They beat Aday Santana and Javier Limones 6-4 6-3 to complete the turnaround. Spain had led 2-1. Then Poggi and Nanni levelled against Arias and Losada to force the decider.
So the title came down to Lamperti and Gutiérrez.
Lamperti and Gutiérrez gave the Buenos Aires crowd what they came for. Controlled and clinical when it mattered.
France finished third in the men's draw.
In the women's final, Spain did what Spain do at the Senior World Cup: win. Lucía Sainz and Marta Alonso opened the tie against the United States and won their rubber. Castrillo and Vaquero took rubber two, and Gayoso and Wakonigg sealed a 3-0 sweep.
A fourth consecutive title. Every edition. Nobody has come close.
Argentina won the men's title for the first time in La Nucía in 2024. In Buenos Aires, they defended it.
Sources: Padel FIP, Padel Magazine
Quick Hits
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David Gala wins FIP Gold São Paulo, his second Gold on a second continent in seven days. A week after taking Bucharest with Enzo Jensen, the 18-year-old won São Paulo with Maxi Arce, beating José Diestro and Juanlu Esbrí 6-4 6-4. Top seeds Jimena Velasco and Raquel Eugenio won the women's draw, beating Lorena Rufo and Jessica Castelló 7-5 6-4. (Padel FIP)
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Thirteen players have locked up their Premier Padel Finals spots. FIP has confirmed 13 players have mathematically secured a place at the Finals (Dec 10-13). Men: Coello, Tapia, Chingotto, Galán, Lebrón, Augsburger. Women: Triay, Brea, González, Josemaría, Ustero, Sánchez, Fernández. Rotterdam, Düsseldorf, Milan, Kuwait, and Acapulco still offer 7,200 points, so every tournament from here decides the remaining 19 spots. (Padel FIP)
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Paquito Navarro & Martín Di Nenno are officially world No. 4. After their Paris semifinal run, they overtook Stupaczuk/Sanz and Yanguas/Nieto to claim the fourth seed. That keeps them away from Coello/Tapia and Galán/Chingotto until at least a semifinal. At Rotterdam P2, the No. 4 ranking reshapes their side of the draw. (MARCA)
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Five more partner changes after Paris. Guille Collado links up with Enrique Goenaga. Pol Hernández partners 18-year-old prodigy Manu Castaño for his Rotterdam debut. Further out: Bautista with Bergamini, Esbrí with Jofre, and Sanyo Gutiérrez back with Maxi Sánchez Blasco. (Mundo Deportivo)
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The Padel Club raises £3M to build 85 courts across the UK. The Wilmslow-based operator secured £3M from NPIF II / PXN Ventures. It will open eight new venues: Handforth, Chester, Liverpool, Knutsford, Sheffield, Cardiff, Brighton, and Sutton Coldfield. The expansion follows 100% year-on-year revenue growth in H1 2026. (Bdaily, Insider Media)
Weekend Results
FIP Senior World Cup 2026: Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 (Sep 20)
Men's final:
- 🥇 Argentina def. Spain 3-2 (comeback from 1-2 down)
- Rubber 4: Poggi/Nanni def. Arias/Losada to level at 2-2
- Rubber 5 (+45 category): Lamperti/Gutiérrez def. Santana/Limones 6-4 6-3. Argentina are world champions!
- 🥉 Third place: France
Women's final:
- 🥇 Spain def. USA 3-0
- Rubber 1: Sainz/Alonso def. Petrauskaite/Zubori
- Rubber 2: Castrillo/Vaquero
- Rubber 3: Gayoso/Wakonigg seals the sweep
- 🥉 Third place: Netherlands def. Belgium
Men's squads, 15 players each
🇦🇷 Argentina: Agustín Gómez Silingo, Tito Allemandi, Gastón Malacalza, Roby Gattiker, Alejandro Lasaigues, Fede Quiles, Miguel Lamperti, Ramiro Nanni, Bebe Auguste, Gaby Domínguez, Lucho Soliveres, Cristian Gutiérrez, Fer Poggi, Luis Pozzoni, Pollo Novillo. Captains: Gabriel Reca and Rodrigo Ovide.
🇪🇸 Spain: Enric Sanmartí, Gerard Company, Sergio Beracierto, José Limones, Aday Santana, Juan González, Pitu Losada, Raúl Arias, Ángel Torres, Willy Lahoz, Antonio Ochoa, Íñigo Unciti, Luis Menéndez, Pablo Semprún, Carlos Almazán. Coach: Juanjo Gutiérrez.
Squads: AFA Pádel, Federación Española de Pádel
Source: Padel FIP
CUPRA FIP Gold São Paulo 🇧🇷 (Sep 20)
- 🥇 Men: Gala/Arce def. Diestro/Esbrí 6-4 6-4
- 🥇 Women: Velasco/Eugenio (1) def. Rufo/Castelló 7-5 6-4
Source: Padel FIP
Coming Up Next
FIP Platinum Lyon 🇫🇷 (Sep 23–27)
The CUPRA FIP Tour heads to France this week. Lyon brings 300 Race points, a big block for mid-tier pairs still chasing a Barcelona spot. Watch Stupaczuk/Sanz and Salazar/Osoro on the men's side.
CUPRA Rotterdam Premier Padel P2 🇳🇱 (Sep 28–Oct 4)
Ahoy Rotterdam is always loud. Paquito Navarro and Martín Di Nenno arrive as the new No. 4 seeds, and Race pressure is building at every tier. Every point from here counts towards the Palau Sant Jordi.
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Did You Know?
Argentina won their first FIP Senior World Cup men's title in La Nucía in 2024.
Two years later in Buenos Aires, they defended it on home soil. The same two men who defined a generation of Argentine padel stepped up again.
Lamperti and Gutiérrez have won more titles than most players will ever attempt. Sunday in Buenos Aires is the one that will mean most.
Player Spotlight
David Gala
David Gala (Spain, 18)
By Friday morning, David Gala was already a FIP Gold champion. He had won Bucharest with Enzo Jensen.
By Sunday evening, he was a FIP Gold champion again, this time in São Paulo with Maxi Arce.
Two partners in seven days, on two continents.
Tour professionals rarely attempt what Gala did at 18: two FIP Golds on two continents in one week, each with a different partner. He did not just turn up. He won both.
The São Paulo final was no formality. José Diestro is an experienced tour presence who knows how to close matches, and Gala and Arce still won 6-4 6-4.
This is not a teenage talent waiting patiently for his turn. Gala is moving fast enough to reach the Race to Barcelona. Watch him in Rotterdam.
Hot Take
Respect has always carried the Senior World Cup. Respect for the pioneers, for the players who built the game before the cameras and the Majors arrived.
But Sunday in Buenos Aires proved something beyond sentiment. Miguel Lamperti and Cristian Gutiérrez, stepping out to play the deciding rubber of a world championship, did not survive on reputation. They won on quality.
The score was 6-4 6-3. Not close, and not scraped.
Padel's power era makes you forget that touch and court craft still win matches. Lamperti and Gutiérrez proved it in front of a packed Buenos Aires crowd.
It is worth saying plainly: this generation built the sport we now watch on Philippe-Chatrier. They competed for decades without the cameras, the prize money or the Majors. Many still coach, still run clubs, and still turn up at world championships to represent their countries. That is not nostalgia. It is the standard the rest of the game inherited, and the bar the next generation should be measuring itself against.
Will the circuit's rising generation take note?
Number of the Week
4
Consecutive FIP Senior World Cup titles for Spain's women. In every edition — 2018, 2022, 2024, 2026 — they have won. No other nation has come close
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