At the 2026 Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Jose Antonio Diestro and David Gala became the first men’s padel champions in the event’s history. The Spaniards beat Flavio Abbate and Alvaro Montiel 7-6, 6-4 to take gold in the first edition in which padel awarded medals at the Games. The International Padel Federation confirmed that the final was played on a sold-out Centre Court.
A decisive tie-break before the 6-4
The opening set carried most of the tension. Abbate and Montiel saved two set points in the tie-break, but could not turn the set around. Diestro and Gala moved ahead 7-6 before closing the match 6-4 in the second set.
The FIP ranking dated 24 August put the Spaniards ahead on paper: Gala was world No. 34 and Diestro No. 45, compared with No. 60 for Abbate and No. 68 for Montiel. The Italians still arrived with strong recent results. Together they had already won five titles in 2026, including the FIP Silver in Alcala de Guadaira in July.
After the match, David Gala stressed the team element of the medal and his relationship with Diestro:
Playing with a friend is a pleasure, and playing for Spain is the best thing there is.
The Spanish pair brought together two different profiles. Gala, 20, plays on the left. Diestro, 36, plays on the right and has a longer career on the international circuit. Their FIP profiles currently list them with different partners, but they had already won together for Spain at the 2025 FIP Euro Padel Cup.
Three rounds, no set dropped
The run to gold shows how well they handled tight sets. In the quarter-finals, Diestro and Gala beat Pedro Araujo and Pedro Graca 7-6, 6-4. In the semi-finals, they defeated Nuno and Miguel Deus 7-5, 7-5, breaking after 5-5 in each set. The final followed the same pattern: little separated the pairs on the scoreboard, but the Spaniards won the games that closed the sets.
The Spanish federation notes that Taranto 2026 marked padel’s debut as a medal sport at the Mediterranean Games. Diestro and Gala are therefore the first men’s champions in the discipline’s history at the event. Spain also took women’s gold through Lucia Sainz and Patty Llaguno, while Jimena Velasco and Nuria Rodriguez won silver. Before the competition, Actu Padel had outlined the draw and the leading pairs in Taranto.
Source: International Padel Federation | Context: Spanish Padel Federation
