Pretoria was the centre of the international padel world as the Premier Padel Pretoria P1 tournament came to the SunBet Arena, Time Square from 28 July to 2 August 2026. This historic event was the first ever Premier Padel tournament staged in South Africa. Ungraded to a P1, it was sure to lure many of the sport’s elite international stars.
The event is a new-multiyear partnership between Premier Padel and Primedia Sport to host the event as part of the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour.
Major milestone for South African Padel
Padel is not only the fastest growing sport in the world, but also in South Africa. Although in it’s baby shoes, the country has 1 400 courts and over 410 000 amateur players nationwide. Hosting this international P1 event should give the sport’s growth an even bigger leap.
Unique playing conditions
The Pretoria P1 tournament presented unique playing conditions. Pretoria has an altitude of above 1 000 m. This posed unique challenges for the game and the players. According to Martha Otega (the youngest World no.1 in padel history) there was a different feel on court. Overhead shots were difficult and the ball was fast at the back of the court. Players therefore had to combine power, precision and smart tactics.
World class representation
Most of the top 8 seed pairs in both the men’s and women’s world rankings were in action this week. They entertained with their brilliance in speed and strategies.
South African representation
A handful of local players received wild card entries to the tournament. Some of the pairs included Luan Krige and Richard Ashforth, Egmond van Heerden and Jason Blakey Milner as well as Tamara Pieters and Simoné Roets. Unfortunately none of the pairs could make it past the first round. Zoë Kruger (23), daughter of late rugby legend Ruben Kruger, paired up with Linge Steenkamp for the tournament. Kruger, who turned pro tennis player at the age of 14, only started playing padel in Januarry 2026. For Zoë padel came into her life quite unexpected. She initially only started to play for fun, but is excited to see that the future will bring.
Explosive padel entertainment in the finals
The final day delivered everything you expect from a final and more!
Martina Calvo (18) and Claudia Fernández (20) had a fairytale start to their new partnership. They played in their first final yesterday after defeating the No.2 seeds, Bea González and Paula Josemaría, in convincing fashion in the semis. In a dramatic and thrilling 3 set final lasting 3 hours, the duo unfortunately had to bow the knee to world No.1s Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea 6-2, 6(5)-7, 7-6(4).
In the men’s final Javi Leal and Fran Guerrero continued to write history in South Africa. They knocked out the No.3 seeds Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger in the quarter-finals. In the semi’s they produced an even bigger upset by defeating the world No.1s (Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia). The pair showed great character In their maiden Premier Padel final, coming back to win the second set 7-5 after losing the first set 2-6. In the third set they played with passion and even had a match point. Unfortunately they lost to the No.2 seeds Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia in a thrilling tie break 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(7).
Growing the game
The sport in South Africa is in a unique time in it’s history. It needs both growth and development to become on par with the rest of the world. Children need to be exposed to the sport at young ages to ultimately become world competitive players. For those already playing, more tournament exposure will boost international experience and rankings.
Hosting an event like the Pretoria P1 will most definitely grow the sport to another level. South Africans are known to be passionate sport supporters. Judging from the enthusiastic and passionate crowds in Pretoria, local padel is set to become great in the padel world.
