8 August 2024

The fifth edition of the FIP Star Gran Canaria aims even higher than previous editions. The registration period for this international event, which will take place from the 13th to the 18th of August, closed yesterday with the confirmation of an impressive list of registered players, which includes a top-10 couple, several top-50s and a former world number one, as part of a large Canarian representation which not only includes players who are residents of the islands, but also includes the presence of all the local athletes who play at international level.

In total, 190 players from 15 different nationalities (Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Italy, Egypt, France, Mexico, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Algeria, Great Britain, Hungary and Switzerland) have registered for this event of the CUPRA FIP Tour circuit of the International Padel Federation, which is organised by the Canarian Padel Federation with the institutional support of the Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria and the Government of the Canary Islands, through Promotur; as well as the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; and the sponsorship of Piz Buin and Neutrógena.

The presentation took place today at the location that will host the main venue of the tournament, the Mayor Fernando Ortiz Wiot square on Las Canteras Avenue, an event that was attended by the Minister of Education and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands, Hipólito Suárez; the Councillor for Sports of the City Council of Las Palmas, Carla Campoamor; and the representative of the Sports Institute of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Víctor Navarro, all accompanied by the president of the Canary Islands Padel Federation, Diego Gil. Also in attendance were the manager of Alberto’s Perfum, José Luis Alberto; the marketing assistant of LIVVO, Elena González; and the manager of Club La Calzada, the tournament’s auxiliary venue, Luis Sicilia.

This FIP Star Gran Canaria will award 62 valuable points for the International Padel Federation ranking to the winning pairings, and 37 points to the runners-up. In addition, 25,000 euros in prize money will be distributed equally between the men’s and women’s teams.

In search of it, top level names will be there. Momo Gonzalez and Edu Alonso stand out in the men’s draw, a top-10 pairing who have just won the FIP Platinum in Sardinia and reached the quarter finals at the P2 Premier Padel in Finland.

The players from Antequera and Valencia start as favourites by ranking. José Antonio García Diestro and Javier García, two of the top-50, form the number 2 pairing. Jairo Bautista and José Jiménez are the third seeds while local pairings Diego Gil and Ignacio Sager complete the top-4 of the tournament.

On the women’s side, one of the big news is the return of the Canarian Marta Marrero, former world number one, who returns to compete at home after becoming a mother. She will do so alongside another host, Carla Mesa. Canarian pearl Raquel Eugenio, just 16 years old, has already won four international FIP titles this year (two Promotion and two Rise), and will be at home with Martina Fassio to try to win her fifth title.

Behind them, Martina Calvo and Patricia Martinez are in third place in the tournament, while the number four pairing is Monica Gomez and Ana Dominguez.

“Achieving a tournament like this is not easy, in the end it is a commitment that we have been making for five years with the International Padel Federation, and we hope to continue doing so”, said the federation’s representative Diego Gil about an event that aspires to continue growing. In this sense, the Minister of the Canary Islands Government, Hipólito Suárez, has announced a new commitment with the Canary Islands Padel Federation so that “the next edition will go further by raising the prizes to attract athletes with higher rankings, improving the financing. The Canary Islands has to be a reference”.

The FIP Star Gran Canaria is part of the Impulso programme of the Spanish Padel Federation, which establishes an additional economic endowment of 2,500 euros aimed at the training of promising young players, which is divided between the two best players and the two best junior players, and the three best players and the three best U21 players.

The FIP Promises Gran Canaria opens the curtain

The FIP Star Gran Canaria will begin next Tuesday with the start of the preliminaries. Before that, the competition will have an unbeatable appetizer. From next Friday until Sunday, the La Calzada club will host the FIP Promises Gran Canaria, an event of the international junior circuit.

Almost a hundred promising players of seven different nationalities will compete in this competition, divided into five categories of play. “It is a great success for the promotion of sport, that the children share the same sporting level space as the Canarian stars, their closest references”, said Víctor Navarro, representative of the Sports Institute of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria; while the Councillor for Sports of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Carla Campoamor, stressed that “having the best athletes who are going to delight us in an incomparable setting, the beach of Las Canteras. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has become not only a tourist destination but also a sports tourist destination, with the best facilities and the best climate for it”.