García and Ruiz stun Navarro and Di Nenno with Pretoria comeback

Javi García and Alex Ruiz turned Pretoria’s biggest match of the week into their own, rallying from a first-set tiebreak loss to beat fifth seeds Paquito Navarro and Martin Di Nenno 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals. Premier Padel called it the tournament’s biggest result so far, and it came from the No. 12 seeds against one of the draw’s most established and dangerous pairings.

The way García and Ruiz finished mattered as much as the scoreline. After losing a tight opening set, they changed the tone in the second, holding their nerve in the longer exchanges and preventing Navarro and Di Nenno from dictating at the same tempo they had in the opener. By the third set, García and Ruiz were the pair landing more of the decisive blows, closing out the match 6-3 and turning a seed upset into a clear momentum shift.

That is what separated this from a routine early-round surprise. Beating the fifth seeds was already significant, but doing it after falling behind showed a pair able to reset quickly, settle their service games and force their opponents into more uncomfortable patterns as the match wore on. The No. 12 seeds did not simply hang around until the higher-ranked team faded; they actively took control after the first set and held it through the finish.

The result also landed in a landmark setting. Pretoria P1 was the debut of the world’s best male players in South Africa, with action beginning at the SunBet Arena at Times Square and the men’s round of 32 taking centre stage. Premier Padel later described Pretoria P1 2026 as “an outstanding success,” pointing to excellent organisation, strong crowds, the passion of South African fans and extensive media coverage across the country.

García and Ruiz’s run now sits alongside other breakthrough moments from the event, including Leal-Guerrero and Calvo-Fernández reaching the first Premier Padel finals in South Africa. In a week that Premier Padel has already framed as one of the standout events of the season, García and Ruiz delivered the result that most clearly showed how quickly the hierarchy can be challenged when a lower seed finds the right answer under pressure.