Ruiz and Esbri lead Bordeaux P2 opener at Mériadeck

Álex Ruiz and Juanlu Esbri gave Bordeaux P2 its first clean statement, beating Javi García and José Jiménez 6-4, 6-2 as the third edition opened at Patinoire de Bordeaux Mériadeck. Aimar Goñi and Edu Alonso followed with a harder-fought 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Sanyo Gutiérrez and Maxi Sánchez Blasco, and the men’s round of 32 quickly showed how thin the margin is on home soil for anyone hoping to ride the crowd deeper into the week.

The setting matters almost as much as the scoreline. Bordeaux is being staged from 28 June to 6 July at a venue better known for ice hockey and figure skating, but Premier Padel has turned the Patinoire de Mériadeck into a three-court padel arena for the second straight year. With €262,250 in prize money on offer, the event has become one of the tour’s sharper city-center showcases, and Bordeaux has already produced the kind of moments that put a stop on the map.

French pressure is building fast. Mike Yanguas and Coki Nieto opened by beating Dylan Guichard and Clément Geens 6-2, 6-2, while Sanyo Gutiérrez and Gonza Alfonso edged French favorites Bergeron and Blanque 7-6, 6-4 in an earlier match. Juan Lebrón and Franco Stupaczuk were also out of the picture before the draw could fully settle, after Lebrón withdrew with injury. That leaves the French contingent with little room to waste chances, especially against pairs that have already handled the early noise in Bordeaux.

The next batch of matches gave France real targets to rally around. Alix Collombon and Ksenia Sharifova were due to face Lucía Sainz and Jana Montes, while Léa Godallier and Daiara Valenzuela were set against Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga. On the men’s side, Dylan Guichard and Clément Geens were lined up against Bautista and Jofre, and Yoan Boronad with Timéo Fonteny drew Chozas and Libaak. Those are exactly the sort of matches that decide whether a home event becomes a support act for the seeds or a week where French players actually change the bracket.

Bordeaux already has one recent benchmark for that kind of breakthrough. Andrea Ustero became the youngest player to win a Premier Padel title there in 2025, at 18 years, 1 month and 24 days, and Arturo Coello with Agustín Tapia took the men’s crown. Another strong French run would not just feed the crowd at Mériadeck. It would strengthen Bordeaux’s place inside Premier Padel as a stop where local players can still punch through, not just show up.