Spain reach Junior Euro Padel Cup finals against Italy, France

Spain reached both finals in Porto with a familiar cast of opponents, but the path there made the title picture look sharper than another routine coronation. The defending champions returned to the girls’ final against Italy and the boys’ final against France, the same pairings that defined the 2024 edition, yet the week’s results showed Italy and France have built junior squads capable of pushing deeper into Spain’s lane. Spain’s boys remained flawless through the tournament, not dropping a single set, while the girls again swept through their semifinal.

The boys’ semifinal underlined Spain’s control. Perez Gil and Estebanez Estevez, Fuertes Leonardo and Arranz Maestre, and Zamora and Rivas all delivered in a 3-0 win over Italy, extending a run that had already run through the group stage without a set lost. France, by contrast, had to fight for its place in the final, coming back from an opening defeat to beat Portugal 2-1. Perrot and Huard De La Marre levelled the tie, then Guy De Chamisso and Robert closed it out, a result that showed the French boys could absorb pressure and finish a tight matchup on the right side.

The girls’ draw carried a similar split between Spain’s authority and Italy’s resistance. Garcia Molina and Fernandez Lopez opened Spain’s 3-0 semifinal sweep of Sweden, and Munera Vila with Delgado Medina, followed by Verdejo Saiz with Pons Plazas, finished the job without allowing the tie to drift. Italy’s 3-0 victory over Portugal was harder won, especially in a third match that lasted more than two and a half hours before Caruso and Speziali helped complete the sweep. Giraldi and Minelli, and Conti and Scarcella, supplied the other Italian wins, evidence that Italy’s program has the depth to survive long, physical matches as well as shorter bursts of pace.

That mattered because the finals were not just about whether Spain could repeat the double it achieved in 2024. They were also a measure of how fast Europe’s junior map is tightening behind it. The International Padel Federation framed the FIP Junior Euro Padel Cup, its third edition, as “the dawn of tomorrow’s champions,” with Luigi Carraro stressing that investing in young players must remain a priority. In Porto, across Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 boys’ and girls’ categories, Spain still set the standard. Italy and France, though, showed they are no longer simply filling the bracket behind them.