GB women book their World Cup place, and Lebrón and Galán will share a court again

Great Britain's women qualify for the World Cup. They came through the European qualifier in Madrid unbeaten. They beat Norway and Serbia in the group, then Poland 3-0 in the semi-final to take one of the two women's places. It is their first World Cup since 2021. Aimee Gibson and Catherine Rose, the GB No.1 pair, dropped only three games all week. Germany took the other women's place, beating Denmark 2-1. The GB men topped their group and beat Ukraine, but lost a six-and-a-half-hour semi-final to Germany 2-1, so they miss Doha. Source: The Padel Paper

FIP turns away an unofficial Swiss men's team. Swiss Padel entered only a women's team for the Madrid qualifier. A group of Swiss men then contacted the FIP directly after the deadline, describing themselves as the official national team. The FIP checked with Swiss Padel and rejected the entry because it had not come through the federation. The matter goes to the next FIP board meeting. Source: FIP statement, 23 September

Lebrón and Galán will play together again, for Spain. Spain's selector Juanjo Gutiérrez told Padel Addict the two will pair up at the World Cup in Doha, though he would not say in which round. The former world No.1 partnership split in March 2024, and their meetings since have been tense. Their last match together was the 2024 world championship final, which they lost to Tapia and Chingotto. Gutiérrez also said Argentina currently starts as the stronger side. Source: Padel Addict (Spanish)

Catching up on September. Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia won their fourth Paris Major in a row, beating Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto in the final. Ariana Sánchez and Andrea Ustero took the women's title 6-2, 6-0, the biggest result of their season. A week earlier, Galán and Chingotto won the Madrid P1, beating Coki Nieto and Mike Yanguas 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea won the women's Madrid final 6-7, 6-3, 6-3. Source: Red Bull

Portsmouth gets its own venue. Padel Quarter opened at Admiral Park, next to Hilsea station, on 18 September. It has six courts, a café, a pro shop and a gym. Until now, players in the city travelled to Fareham or further to play. Memberships start at £15 a month. Source: Portsmouth News

A 12-court centre opens in Prato, Italy. NWG Arena in Galciana has nine indoor courts, two outdoor courts and a show court for national and international events. It also has tennis, pickleball, two pools and a medical and physiotherapy clinic. Maxi Sánchez's Shark Academy is based there. For the tech-minded: the centre has an AI camera system for performance analysis built in from day one, which is now a common feature of new European builds. Source: Notizie di Prato (Italian)