Premier Padel Pretoria P1 2026
July 26–August 2 · SunBet Arena, Menlyn, Pretoria · €479,068 prize pool
Owner, Padel Earnings
Pretoria P1 2026 Champions
Men's champions
Alejandro Galan & Federico Chingotto
beat Guerrero / Leal · 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(7)
€26,000 per player
Women's champions
Gemma Triay Pons & Delfina Brea Senesi
beat Fernández / Calvo · 6-2, 6-7, 7-6
€17,000 per player
Full results and live earnings on the tournament page →
Tournament Overview
Premier Padel Pretoria P1 2026 runs July 26–August 2, 2026 at SunBet Arena at Time Square in Menlyn, Pretoria, South Africa. As a P1 event — the second-highest tier on the Premier Padel tour — the tournament offers €479,068 in total prize money, with men's winners earning €26,000 per player and women's winners €17,000 per player — a 53% pay gap that runs through every round of the draw.
Why is Pretoria a P1? From P2 to the Qatar Major's Replacement
Pretoria was originally announced on the 2026 calendar as a P2 event worth roughly €260,000. After the Qatar Major was cancelled, Premier Padel upgraded the event to full P1 status, lifting the prize pool to €479,068 — the standard 2026 P1 amount. The upgrade matters beyond the money: P1 status makes attendance mandatory for the tour's top-ranked players, meaning South Africa's first-ever Premier Padel tournament arrives with the full elite field rather than a scaled-down one.
The First Premier Padel Tournament in South Africa
Pretoria P1 2026 is a landmark event: the first Premier Padel tournament ever held in South Africa, and the biggest professional padel event ever staged in Sub-Saharan Africa. It launches a multiyear partnership between Premier Padel and Primedia Sport designed to grow the tour across the African continent. Local players — including Adam van Harte, Richard Ashforth, Warren Kuhn and Luan Krige — are among the hopefuls relishing the chance to compete for home support at the sport's biggest African stage yet.
What is a P1 Tournament?
The P1 designation represents the second-highest tier of Premier Padel events, below only Majors. P1 events feature:
- €479,068 total prize pool — nearly double that of P2 events
- Large main draws — 48 men's pairs and 28 women's pairs, plus qualifying
- Higher FIP ranking points than P2 events
- Mandatory attendance for the tour's top-ranked players
Straight After Málaga P1
Pretoria followed immediately after Málaga P1, where Coello/Tapia won the men's title 6-2 6-2 over Lebrón/Augsburger, and Triay/Brea took the women's crown 7-5 3-6 7-6(3) over Josemaría/González. Chingotto/Galán arrived in Pretoria defending their spot at the top of the 2026 Race for #1. Pretoria also runs on SAST (UTC+2) — identical to Central European Summer Time, so European fans can watch at familiar hours, while Argentina sits five hours behind.
Click any player name to see their career prize money history.
Tournament Bracket
Match results and bracket progression
Recently finished
Auto-updates every 5 min · SunBet Arena, Pretoria · SAST (UTC+2) · FIP page →
South Africa (host) 🇿🇦
SAST (UTC+2)
Identical to Central European Summer Time — European fans watch at familiar hours all week.
Argentina 🇦🇷
−5 hours
Argentina sits five hours behind SAST — evening sessions in Pretoria fall around midday there.
🏆 Finals day
Sun 2 Aug
Men's & women's finals at SunBet Arena. Free on Premier Padel YouTube.
Sun · Jul 26
Qualifying
Qualifying round — 48 men's + 28 women's pairs plus qualifiers in Pretoria
Mon · Jul 27
Main Draw Begins
Main draw action begins — the first Premier Padel matches ever played in South Africa
Tue · Jul 28
R32 — Round of 32
Round of 32 gets underway
Wed · Jul 29
R32/R16
Round of 32 concludes and Round of 16 begins — typical P1 mid-week rhythm, provisional
Thu · Jul 30
R16 — Round of 16
Men's + women's round of 16
Fri · Jul 31
QF — Quarter-finals
Men's + women's quarter-finals
Sat · Aug 1
SF — Semi-finals
Men's & women's semi-finals at SunBet Arena
Sun · Aug 2
Final
Men's & women's finals — FREE on Premier Padel YouTube
Schedule is provisional and subject to change — check the official FIP event page closer to the date.
Draw Size & Format
Men's Draw
Women's Draw
Prize Money Breakdown & the P1 Pay Gap
Premier Padel Pretoria P1 2026 offers €479,068 in total prize money — up from the roughly €260,000 originally planned when Pretoria was announced as a P2. Men's winners take home €26,000 per player; women's winners earn €17,000 per player. Same tournament, same week, same venue — but men are paid 53% more than women for winning. The gap is identical at every other Premier Padel P1 in 2026 (Málaga, London, Valencia) and runs through every single round of the draw. Equal pay only exists at the four Majors and the Finals Barcelona.
| Round | Men / pair | Men / player | Women / pair | Women / player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | €52,000 | €26,000 | €34,000 | €17,000 |
| Final | €28,600 | €14,300 | €18,700 | €9,350 |
| Semi-final | €15,600 | €7,800 | €10,200 | €5,100 |
| Quarter-final | €10,400 | €5,200 | €6,800 | €3,400 |
| Round of 16 | €6,188 | €3,094 | €4,038 | €2,019 |
| Round of 32 | €3,500 | €1,750 | €2,018 | €1,009 |
| Total Prize Pool | €479,068 | |||
Per pair = combined prize for the team. Per player = what each individual takes home. View live earnings on the Pretoria P1 2026 tournament page →
Tax on Prize Money in South Africa: A Cheaper Stop on the Calendar
South Africa applies a 15% final withholding tax on South African-source earnings paid to non-resident sportspersons. Once withheld at source, that 15% is typically the end of the player's South African tax obligation on that income — a straightforward, comparatively low rate next to some of the tour's other stops.
15%
Final withholding tax (South Africa)
Up to 45%
Possible final liability at UK P1 events
Cheaper stop
Lower than Spain, UK or Italy
Compare tax rates at every Premier Padel tournament in our complete tax-by-country guide →
Pretoria P1 Storylines: Two Finals, Two Deciding Tiebreaks — and a New Pair in the Top Bracket
Galán & Chingotto survive Pretoria 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(7) — the title of the season they nearly let go
It took two hours and a third-set tiebreak, and for long stretches it did not look like the number two seeds' match at all. Galán and Chingotto took the first set 6-2 and looked like they would stroll it. Then Fran Guerrero and Javi Leal — the pair who had knocked out the world number ones the night before — refused to go away, took the second 7-5, and pushed the final all the way to a breaker they had every chance to win.
It is Galán and Chingotto's sixth title of 2026 and their 18th together, and their first in almost three months. On the season's ledger that is a big weekend: with Coello and Tapia out in the semis, the Race leaders extended their advantage instead of merely holding it. But nobody watching would call it comfortable.
18
titles together as a pair
6th
title of the 2026 season
2h+
on court to get it done
2
of 2 finals decided in a final-set tiebreak
Guerrero & Leal did not win the title — but they left Pretoria as a genuine top-four pair
Add up their week: the number three seeds beaten from a set down in a 13-11 tiebreak, the number one seeds beaten in straight sets, and the number two seeds taken to a deciding breaker in the final. Three of the top three seeds pushed or beaten, by a pair seeded seventh. That is not a hot streak any more, that is a level.
Here is the take we will happily be held to: on this evidence Guerrero and Leal look like the more stable pair than Lebrón and Augsburger. Lebrón/Augsburger have the higher ceiling on their best day — the Málaga final proved that — but they swing further between brilliant and ragged. Guerrero and Leal spent a whole week playing at one temperature, in three-set marathons, without the level dropping.
The test comes immediately. London P1 starts 3 August, the first Premier Padel event ever held in the UK, and a week is not much recovery after two tiebreak marathons. If they back this up at Olympia, the top-four conversation stops being a talking point and becomes the seeding list.
Fran Guerrero & Javi Leal beat the world number ones 7-5, 7-5 — in 80 minutes, without dropping a set
27
consecutive tournaments Coello/Tapia had reached the final
6th
straight title they were chasing here
80'
minutes it took to end the run
May
their previous defeat — the Buenos Aires final
Put the streak in context: Coello and Tapia had not missed a final since the Asunción P2 last year. Twenty-seven tournaments, twenty-seven title matches. In Pretoria that ended in straight sets, at the hands of a pair who had needed a 13-11 tiebreak just to get out of the quarter-finals the day before. Guerrero and Leal went on to push the number two seeds to a deciding tiebreak in the final.
The body-ball tactic that broke the number ones — and how it held up against Galán
Watching the semi back, the pattern was hard to miss: Guerrero and Leal hit hard and flat straight at Tapia's body, over and over. It is the one ball that takes away what makes him Tapia — no room to open the wrists, no angle to invent, no time for the flick he beats everyone else with. Deny him space and the magic stops being magic.
Before the final we asked whether the same medicine would work on Galán, whose reflex game at the net is arguably the best on tour. The honest answer: partly. It did not overwhelm him the way it smothered Tapia — body-height balls are exactly what Galán blocks back rather than fumbles — but it was enough to win a set off the Race leaders and force a deciding tiebreak. A tactic that gets you to 7-6 in the third against this pair is not a gimmick.
The other thing we noticed: Chingotto never really found his match. On his day he is the wall that makes Galán's aggression affordable; here he looked a step off the pace for long spells, and the middle of the court kept opening up. Galán and the scoreboard bailed them out. Worth watching in London whether that was one flat afternoon or the start of a dip.
Our own reading of the two matches, not something the official reports called out — watch the replays and judge for yourself.
Seeds 3 and 1 in 24 hours — via a 13-11 tiebreak
Before the number ones, Guerrero and Leal took out the number three seeds: Málaga finalists Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger, beaten 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-6(11) after Guerrero and Leal came from a set down and survived a monster 13-11 deciding tiebreak. Two of the top three seeds, in two days, by a pair seeded seventh.
Fran Guerrero career earnings →Galán & Chingotto came through the quieter half
While the top half fell apart, the Race leaders did their job: they ended the run of Sanyo Gutiérrez and Juanlu Esbri 7-5, 6-4 in the semi, after the veteran pair had demolished Ruiz/García 6-0, 6-3 in the quarters. With Coello and Tapia gone, the title was theirs to lose — and they came within a tiebreak of losing it.
Galán career earnings →Fernández & Triay & Brea win the other tiebreak final — and the young pair announce themselves
The women's final went the same way as the men's, only longer: 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 to Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea after two hours and 53 minutes. It is the world number ones' fifth title of 2026, and it makes them the first Premier Padel champions crowned in South Africa.
The story on the other side of the net is Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo. In their first big final as a pair they beat Josemaría/González 6-1, 6-4 on the way, then took the champions to a third-set breaker. Triay and Brea, together since 2025, needed everything to hold them off.
Claudia Fernández career earnings →A brave South African debut on padel's biggest African stage
All four home wildcard pairs — Van Harte/Kuhn, Ashforth/Krige, Pieters/Roets and Steenkamp/Kruger — fell in round one without taking a set. But they were the first South Africans ever to contest a Premier Padel main draw, in front of a home crowd at SunBet Arena — the payoff of the multiyear Premier Padel × Primedia Sport partnership that brought the tour to Africa.
See the full prize breakdown ↓Key Players to Watch
Pretoria P1 arrives days after Málaga, bringing the tour's form players to a brand-new continent in front of a growing South African padel audience.
Men's Draw
The world number one and #1 seed arrives fresh off winning Málaga P1. Coello's relentless intensity and clinical finishing make him the man to beat wherever the tour goes next.
Coello's partner and the most dangerous shot-maker in the sport. Tapia's magic and court coverage carried Málaga — Pretoria is the next stop to defend that form.
Seeded #2 and leads the 2026 Race for #1 alongside Galán. Chingotto's defensive brilliance means no lead is ever safe against them.
Chingotto's partner in the 2026 Race for #1. Galán arrives in Pretoria defending that lead against the tour's in-form pair.
Beaten Málaga finalist alongside Leo Augsburger — the pair are seeded #3 in Pretoria. Lebrón's devastating net presence makes him a threat at any P1.
Seeded #4 alongside Miguel Yanguas, part of a stacked field for South Africa's first-ever P1.
Women's Draw
Málaga champion and Race #1. With P1 attendance mandatory for top-ranked players, Triay's composure and tactical intelligence make her one to watch if she competes in Pretoria.
Triay's Málaga-winning partner, among the women's Race leaders expected on the tour's newest stop.
One of the most consistent players in women's padel, always among the favourites to challenge in a final wherever the tour travels.
Paula's regular partner and a proven finals performer looking to make an impression on padel's newest continent.
Consistently one of the best players on tour, bringing composure and match craft to a competitive Pretoria draw.
Sánchez's partner, part of one of the tour's most dangerous women's pairs on their day.
Venue & Location: SunBet Arena, Menlyn
SunBet Arena at Time Square is an indoor arena in Menlyn, Pretoria, with a capacity of roughly 8,500 seats and hosting three competition courts for the tournament. Pretoria is South Africa's administrative capital, located in Gauteng province a short drive from Johannesburg, and now takes on a new chapter as the stage for the first Premier Padel tournament ever held in South Africa. The venue is served by OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
Tournament Details
- Category: P1 (Premier 1)
- Venue: SunBet Arena at Time Square (indoor, 3 courts)
- Prize Pool: €479,068
- Dates: July 26–August 2, 2026
About Pretoria
- Country: South Africa
- Location: Menlyn, Gauteng (near Johannesburg)
- Timezone: SAST (UTC+2)
- Airport: OR Tambo International (Johannesburg)
How to Watch Premier Padel Pretoria 2026
Streaming Options
Premier Padel YouTube
Free live streaming of all main court matches with commentary. No subscription required.
FIP TV
The official International Padel Federation streaming platform with comprehensive coverage.
Red Bull TV
Also carries Premier Padel coverage.
SuperSport (South Africa)
The natural local broadcaster for South African viewers — check availability closer to the event.
Schedule Tips
- Time zone: SAST (UTC+2)
- Continental Europe viewers: Same as CEST — no time difference
- Argentina viewers: 5 hours behind SAST
- Final: Sunday August 2
Latest Earnings
| Player | Partner | Round | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alejandro Galan | Federico Chingotto | Winner | €26,000 |
| Federico Chingotto | Alejandro Galan | Winner | €26,000 |
| Gemma Triay Pons | Delfina Brea Senesi | Winner | €17,000 |
| Delfina Brea Senesi | Gemma Triay Pons | Winner | €17,000 |
| Javier Leal | Francisco Guerrero | Final | €14,300 |
| Francisco Guerrero | Javier Leal | Final | €14,300 |
| Claudia Fernandez Sanchez | Martina Calvo Santamaria | Final | €9,350 |
| Martina Calvo Santamaria | Claudia Fernandez Sanchez | Final | €9,350 |
| Arturo Coello | Agustin Tapia | Semi-final | €7,800 |
| Sanyo Gutierrez | Juanlu Esbri | Semi-final | €7,800 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the Pretoria P1 2026?
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Why is Pretoria a P1?
Where is Pretoria P1 2026 played?
Why is Pretoria P1 2026 a historic event?
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Track Every Euro Earned at Pretoria P1 2026
Follow all the action with live earnings updates, match results, and complete prize money breakdowns from African padel's biggest event yet.
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