Rafa Nadal’s Kuwait academy hosts top-tier padel Major
Rafa Nadal’s academy in Kuwait hosts a top-tier padel Major: qualifying starts on Friday, 23 October, and the main draw runs from 26 to 31 October. The event was originally a P1 tournament, but moved up to Major — the highest level of the Premier Padel circuit — after the tournament planned for Doha, Qatar, was postponed. It is held under the International Padel Federation.
World No 1s lead the draw
Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia, the men’s world No 1s, are the top seeds. Ale Galán and Federico Chingotto are seeded second; they won the world pairs championship in Kuwait in 2025.
Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea lead the women’s draw. Paula Josemaría and Bea González are seeded second, followed by Ariana Sánchez and Andrea Ustero, then Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo.
The link to Manacor
The Kuwait academy has hosted major padel events before: a P1 tournament in 2024 and the world pairs championship in 2025. Nadal opened the centre in February 2020 in partnership with the Tamdeen group.
The academy says the Kuwait centre was set up to bring the training methods and values of its original project in Manacor, Mallorca, to the Middle East. It offers tennis and padel programmes for children, young people and adults.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com