Kuwait Major semi-finals: three men's pairs reach their first Major last four
Coello and Tapia are the only top seeds left in a Major full of upsets, while the women's semi-finals feature the tour's top four teams again.
The Kuwait Premier Padel Major has been a week of shocks, and Thursday's quarter-finals kept them coming. The men's semi-finals in Kuwait City on Friday feature three pairs who have never reached the last four of a Major together, plus the familiar world number ones, Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia.
Libaak and Alfonso keep knocking out big names
Tino Libaak and Gonzalo Alfonso, seeded 12th, had already beaten third seeds Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals they knocked out fifth seeds Paquito Navarro and Martín Di Nenno 7-6, 6-1, recovering from 2-5 down in the first-set tie-break before running away with the second set.
According to Premier Padel, it was Alfonso's first win over Navarro at the fourth attempt. The result also guarantees the Argentine pair at least 780 FIP Race points, which helps their push to qualify for the season-ending Finals.
A first-time final pairing is guaranteed
In the bottom half, Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi, seeded 11th, needed just 54 minutes to beat fourth seeds Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz 6-1, 6-2. The Spanish pair only teamed up in March.
They will play ninth seeds Juan Tello and Maxi Arce, who ended the run of Marc Sintes and Coquito Zamora 6-4, 6-2. Seeded 30th, Sintes and Zamora were the lowest-ranked team ever to reach a Major quarter-final. For Tello, it is a first Major semi-final in more than four years, since the 2022 Paris Major. Whoever wins, Premier Padel says it will be a final pairing the tour has not seen before.
Coello and Tapia march on
The top seeds beat Jairo Bautista and Lucas Bergamini 6-1, 6-4. The FIP notes that they are chasing a fifth title in a row after Paris, Rotterdam, Düsseldorf and Milan, and that they are the only one of the leading men's pairs left in the draw. Fede Chingotto and Ale Galán did not play in Kuwait. Coello and Tapia now meet Libaak and Alfonso for the fifth time. Reaching the final would all but secure them the year-end world number one ranking for a fourth season running.
The women's draw goes to form
The women's side has been far more predictable. Ari Sánchez and Andrea Ustero survived a tight three-setter against sixth seeds Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen, while Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea, Paula Josemaría and Bea González, and Martina Calvo and Claudia Fernández all won comfortably. That means the top four teams on the tour fill the semi-finals for the fourth tournament in a row. Sánchez and Ustero play Josemaría and González.
The British angle
There are no British players left in Kuwait. GB number one Catherine Rose lost in the final round of women's qualifying, one match short of the main draw, Padel Mad reported. The finals are on Saturday 31 October.
New to the pro game? Our guide to padel tournaments explains how Premier Padel, Majors and the FIP Tour fit together, and our padel rules and scoring guide covers tie-breaks and the golden point.
