The Rafa Nadal Academy in Kuwait hosts the brand new FIP World Cup Pairs

The Rafa Nadal Academy in Kuwait has once again become the epicentre of world padel as it hosts the FIP World Cup Pairs, the new doubles World Championship promoted by the International Padel Federation (FIP).

The tournament, which rewards its champions with 2,000 FIP Ranking points and has a purse of over 1.5 million euros, is being jointly hosted by the Rafa Nadal Academy in Kuwait and the prestigious Arena Kuwait, with a one-round qualifier and a main draw made up of 48 men’s pairs and 40 women’s pairs. The winning teams will receive 2,000 points in the FIP Rankings, while the finalists will pick up 1,200.

By hosting the event, the Rafa Nadal Academy in Kuwait has again placed itself at the epicentre of professional padel, reaffirming its commitment to the growth and professionalisation of the sport in the Middle East. One year ago the facilities, which were officially opened by Rafa Nadal himself in 2020, provided the venue for the Kuwait City Premier Padel P1, which was later named the tournament of the year.

The FIP World Cup Pairs is a new and historic challenge in padel as the event has been reimagined so that the best pairs – be they of the same nationality or not – will represent their countries in a competition that is set to mark a turning point in the sport’s global evolution.

World number 1 Arturo Coello heaped praise on the quality of the event: “The Academy is incredible, the facilities are unbelievable and I think they put on a professional tournament that has everything the players could possibly need throughout the week”.

Along the same lines, Marta Ortega said: “The facilities are everything we want and much more”, while Gemma Triay, an ambassador for the Academy and world number 1, highlighted that it is the “ideal” type of tournament and called it the best of the season.

Maribel Nadal, assistant director-general of the academy, travelled to Kuwait to supervise the organisation of the event: “We’re really happy because the feedback we have from the players about the academy, the hotel and the stadium is very positive. The International Padel Federation has really got behind the event and done an amazing job preparing with the entire team in Kuwait to guarantee that the tournament is world class. I think it will be a really amazing event and it will have a huge global impact”.

Best known for training international tennis players since opening in 2016 in Manacor, the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar is also involved in the world of padel with training programmes for children and adults held on the 19 courts at the world-class facilities in Manacor. The international expansion of the Academy led the Kuwait centre to build the first padel courts in the country’s history and as a result it has consolidated itself as a leader in padel in the Middle East, a region in which the sport has enjoyed exponential growth in recent years.