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
Quick Hits
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American padel surged 61.6% to 1,110 courts across 38 states. Misitrano Consulting's second annual US Padel Report, released September 24, counts 296 facilities and 460,000 active players nationwide. Peak indoor pricing holds at $100/hour; demand is organic, and the sport is no longer a coastal curiosity. (Athletech News)
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Premier Padel returns at Ahoy Rotterdam with a loaded draw. Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia headline the top half; Franco Chingotto and Alejandro Galán anchor the opposite side. Paquito Navarro and Martín Di Nenno arrive as the No. 4 seeds, clear of both top pairs until at least a semifinal. (Tennis Tonic)
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The Race to Barcelona has become a seven-tournament sprint. Coello and Tapia lead Galán and Chingotto by 1,270 points, but must defend 9,660 from their dominant late-2025 run. Rotterdam, Düsseldorf, Milan, Kuwait, Dubai, Mexico and the Finals remain; Chingalán have a real mathematical path to World No. 1. (Red Bull)
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The UK padel market has reached 1,800 courts and nearly £290M in gross booking value. The MBS Group counts 860,000 to one million players across roughly 800 clubs, among them Padel Social Club and Soul Padel. Those operators are building "third spaces" where the court is the entry point, not the destination, and the business is shifting from sport to hospitality. (The MBS Group)
Weekend Results
FIP Platinum Lyon (Sep 21–27)
Men's final:
- 🥇 Fran Guerrero / Javi Leal def. Franco Stupaczuk / Jon Sanz 4-6 6-4 6-1
Women's final:
- 🥇 Bea Caldera / Carmen Goenaga def. Martina Fassio / Águeda Pérez 6-1 6-3
Source: Padel FIP
Coming Up Next
CUPRA Rotterdam Premier Padel P2 (Sep 28 – Oct 4, Ahoy Rotterdam)
Premier Padel is back after a two-week break. Ahoy Rotterdam packs in loud, knowledgeable crowds, and the €264,534 prize pool means every match carries weight in the Race.
Watch for the Guerrero/Leal vs Coello/Tapia projected quarterfinal. After Lyon, that match carries a very different charge.
On the other side of the draw, Galán and Chingotto face Stupaczuk and Sanz in their projected quarterfinal. Every point here reshapes the road to Barcelona.
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Did You Know?
Two of Spain's eight men in Doha, Aimar Goñi and Jon Sanz, are both from Pamplona. Navarra is a region of just 660,000 people, tucked between the Pyrenees and the Rioja wine country. It now provides 25% of Spain's men's World Cup squad.
No Spanish region sends a higher proportion of national team players relative to population, and two of the eight come from the same city.
Player Spotlight
Aimar Goñi
Aimar Goñi (Spain, 20)
He's from Pamplona, ranked 32nd in the world, and last week Juanjo Gutiérrez handed him a World Cup call-up at age 20.
Goñi plays the left side, a revés specialist with an aggressive overhead and court coverage that unsettles experienced pairs. He partners Edu Alonso, and the two sit 10th among active pairs on the FIP Tour.
Earlier this season, he and Alonso beat Yanguas and Nieto at Roland Garros to reach the quarterfinals. That performance put Goñi on the selectors' radar.
The next step is Doha, with fast indoor glass, the world's best eight nations, and a 20-year-old from Navarra asked to deliver for Spain. Juanjo Gutiérrez believes he is ready. Guerrero and Leal gave him a week to think carefully about that call.
Hot Take
Leaving Alejandra Salazar off Spain's World Cup squad was cold-blooded.
It was also the correct decision, and it proves Carolina Navarro understands modern fast-court padel better than the critics demanding sentimentality.
Salazar holds seven world championships and is one of the greatest players in the sport's history. She is also 40, retiring at year-end, and Doha's indoor glass courts reward pace and counter-attack. That suits Marta Ortega and 18-year-old Martina Calvo, not her.
The Spanish press screamed. The coaching staff assessed the match-up requirements for Doha and acted accordingly.
Spain does not pick World Cup squads to honor careers but to win, and what happens in Doha on November 7 will validate Navarro's selection rather than the announcement.
Agree? Hit reply.
Number of the Week
1,110
Active padel courts in the United States across 38 states as of September 2026, up 61.6% in twelve months
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