Laura Buteau at FIP Bronze Portimão: a round-of-16 finish
Result: Laura Buteau and Camilia Benabdeljalil were beaten 7/5 6/3 by Clarinha Santos and Brittany Dubins, the number one seeds in the women’s draw. The French-Moroccan pair therefore leave Portimão in the round of 16.
The day had started with a clear win over wild cards Karin Marlies Lems and Diana Lemeshko, beaten 6/2 6/1. That result sent Buteau and Benabdeljalil into the match outlined in our tournament preview: the highest-ranked pair in the draw.
In the FIP ranking published on 3 August, Dubins is world number 89, Santos number 113 and Buteau number 188. The two favourites had a combined 980 points at the start of the tournament. The FIP also presented Santos, 19, as Portugal’s number one player and a player chasing a third title in 2026.
The first set turns at 5-5
Buteau and Benabdeljalil stayed level until 5-5 in the opening set. Santos and Dubins then won the next two games to take it 7/5. The top seeds closed the match 6/3 in the second set.
The recent results of their opponents underline the difficulty of the assignment. Dubins has already won three FIP Bronze events this season, in Miami, Hamburg and La Nucía, plus a FIP Silver in Palermo. Santos has two FIP Bronze titles in 2026, in Dakar and Dronten. Against that pair, Buteau and Benabdeljalil stayed with them for a full first set before the favourites pulled away in the closing games.
Five points in a tightly packed ranking race
The points scale on the official FIP Bronze Portimão page awards 5 points for a round-of-16 finish. Buteau entered the tournament with 158 points, so every round won still matters in a ranking where small margins can move several places.
In June, the French player summed up that density in an interview published by Padel Magazine:
Today, I have around 155 points and I am only 180th.
Her summer shows steady activity on the circuit: quarterfinals at the FIP Bronze events in Chieti and A Coruña, a round of 16 in Hungary, and now another round of 16 in Portimão. Santos and Dubins continue their tournament in Saturday’s quarterfinals, while Buteau leaves with one round won and another result added to her international season.
