Padel at the 2026 Mediterranean Games has entered the competition phase in Taranto, Italy. The tournament runs from 22 to 28 August, with three titles at stake in the men’s, women’s and mixed events. Following the draws and the opening day, the leading seeds are now entering the competition and the French pairs know their opponents.
Taranto hosts padel from 22 to 28 August
The padel competition at the 2026 Mediterranean Games is being held at the Parco del Mediterraneo Salinella in Taranto, Italy. This marks the first appearance of padel as a medal sport in the history of the Mediterranean Games. Three titles will be awarded in men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. All three events are played as knockout tournaments through to the finals on Friday 28 August.
Tunisia and Monaco open the men’s draw
The opening day was mainly used to complete the round-of-16 line-up. Tunisia began its campaign with Mehdi Elloumi and Mohamed Aziz Helali defeating Greece’s Pavlos-Louis Balafas and Vasileios Sioulis 6-3 6-3. They now face second seeds José Diestro and David Gala in the round of 16.
Tunisian coach Elian Ruquet put the victory into context in comments to the International Padel Federation:
For Tunisia, it was our first participation in an international competition and, at the beginning, we were a little tense.
Kosovo also booked a place in the last 16 thanks to brothers Lavdrim and Leotrim Krasniqi, who defeated Alihan Ozbayrak and Unsal Ataol Toker 7-6 6-3. They will now face Portuguese brothers Nuno and Miguel Deus. Slovenia eliminated Serbia 6-1 6-2 through Boštjan Repanšek and Simon Javoršek, who now face Pedro Araujo and Pedro Graça.
Monaco also extended its stay in the draw. Nicolas Fedoroff and Noah Minioni, born in 2009, defeated Albanians Martin Muedini and Alensio Serjani 6-3 2-6 6-4. The two representatives of the Principality now have Bastien Blanqué and Dylan Guichard standing in their way. Albania also has a pair in the next round thanks to Fjoralb Curri and Kristian Naska. Morocco qualified through Mohamed Alami and Reda El Amrani, while the FIP also announced two Egyptian qualifiers.
Collado-Hernández lead the draw, with two seeded French pairs
The men’s draw features 24 pairs, with the eight seeds receiving first-round byes. Guille Collado and Pol Hernández are the top seeds ahead of Diestro-Gala. Italians Flavio Abbate and Alvaro Montiel are seeded third, ahead of the Deus brothers. Bastien Blanqué and Dylan Guichard are fifth seeds, Marco Cassetta and Simone Iacovino sixth, Pedro Araujo and Pedro Graça seventh, and Yoan Boronad and Timéo Fonteny eighth.
For France, the draw means the country’s two pairs cannot meet before the final. Blanqué-Guichard are in the top half alongside Collado-Hernández. Boronad-Fonteny are in the bottom half with Diestro-Gala. Blanqué and Guichard now know their first opponents will be Fedoroff-Minioni, while Boronad and Fonteny are waiting for an Egyptian pair that qualified through the opening round.
The draw also highlights the strength in depth of the leading nations. Spain has its two pairs as the top two seeds, Italy has two pairs among the top six, Portugal two among the top seven and France two among the top eight.
Araujo-Nogueira ahead of Sainz-Llaguno and the Italian pairs
The women’s draw features 19 pairs, with three first-round matches completing the last-16 line-up. Sofia Araujo and Ana Catarina Nogueira are the number one seeds. They are followed by Spanish pair Patty Llaguno and Lucia Sainz, then Nuria Rodriguez and Jimena Velasco. Giorgia Marchetti and Carolina Orsi are seeded fourth.
Italy also has another highly ranked pair in Carlotta Casali and Giulia Dal Pozzo, the fifth seeds. Orsi and Marchetti arrive with a major reference point behind them, having won gold at the 2023 European Games in Krakow. In Taranto, their opening match is against Egyptians Mayar Tawfik and Farida El Halaby.
France has two pairs among the top eight seeds. Louise Bahurel and Lucile Pothier, seeded sixth, begin against Egypt’s qualifiers Laila El Nimr and Moura Hakim. Eighth seeds Steffi Merah and Charlotte Soubrié are due to face Kosovo’s Donika Bashota and Adrijana Lekaj. The bottom half places Bahurel-Pothier in the same quarter as Marchetti-Orsi, while Merah-Soubrié are in the top half alongside Araujo-Nogueira.
Mixed doubles creates a third medal opportunity
The mixed doubles draw features 12 pairs, with the top four seeds receiving byes. Pedro and Sofia Araujo are the top seeds for Portugal. Marco Cassetta and Giulia Dal Pozzo are seeded second for Italy. French pair Louise Bahurel-Dylan Guichard are third seeds, ahead of Tunisians Dora Chamli and Mehdi Elloumi.
The programme on 23 August opened at 10 a.m. with two round-of-16 matches: Moura Hakim and Youssef Hossam against Pavlos-Louis Balafas and Christina-Styliani Ntanou, followed by Sergis Kyratzis and Maria Siopacha against Zeynep Kocak and Unsal Ataol Toker. The four seeded pairs advance directly to the quarter-finals. Bahurel and Guichard will therefore face the winner of Serbia-Slovenia, a match between Uros Acimov and Ana Mirkovic and Simon Javoršek and Tina Lah.
Sofia Araujo, ranked world number 8 in the FIP ranking published before the event, is the highest-ranked woman competing in Taranto. Her partnership with her brother Pedro gives Portugal the number one seed. In the bottom half, Dal Pozzo and Cassetta are Italy’s leading mixed doubles pair. The draw therefore allows for a possible final between the top two seeds, although both pairs must first negotiate two knockout rounds.
Three titles, one week and a straight knockout format
The tournament brings together 88 athletes from 18 countries at the Parco del Mediterraneo Salinella and runs from 22 to 28 August. All three events use a straight knockout format. Matches are played as best of three sets, with a tie-break at 6-6 and a deciding point at 40-40. A third-place match is scheduled in each category, giving the losing semi-finalists an opportunity to compete for bronze.
Padel’s presence in Taranto forms part of a series of multisport events supported by the FIP. Following the 2023 European Games in Krakow, the 2026 calendar notably includes the Mediterranean Games, the South American Games and the Asian Games.
The FIP has also announced that the tournament will be broadcast in 244 countries and territories via Eurovision Sport. On court, the 23 August schedule brings the leading seeds into the competition. The semi-finals are scheduled for 27 August, followed by the bronze-medal matches and all three finals on Friday 28 August.
For France, the opponents are now known: Monaco for Blanqué-Guichard, Egypt for Bahurel-Pothier, Kosovo for Merah-Soubrié, while Bahurel-Guichard have a mixed doubles quarter-final to prepare for. A defeat before the semi-finals ends a pair’s tournament. Once the final four is reached, however, the losing semi-finalists still have the bronze-medal match to play.
