FIP Euro Padel Cup
The European Padel Championships have started again! Or rather, the FIP Euro Padel Cup. Of course, the Netherlands is participating again this year in both the women's and men's competitions. The tournament will take place from July 7 to 13 in Madrid. Compared to last year's European Championships, something has changed this time around. The tournament has been given a new look. This year, it has been divided into three different phases. Below, I will explain exactly what that means.
Phase 1
This phase is new to the European Championships this year. The FIP wanted to give more countries the opportunity to participate in the European Championships. A total of 15 countries are participating in the women's competition and 21 countries in the men's competition. These are countries that are currently outside the top 16. From July 8 to 10, they will play against each other in groups. Because padel is not yet equally popular everywhere, the difference in level between some countries is too great. That is why these countries are in a separate phase. The best five countries from this round will advance to phase 2.
Phase 2
In this phase, the countries that finished 5th to 16th in the previous European Championships will compete. The Netherlands is among them, as they finished in an impressive 5th place last time. Because the Netherlands performed best in this group at the time, they will be placed first in a group. This continues down to 16th place. The five best countries from phase 1 will also be added to this phase, completing the field of participants. The draw for this phase will be announced tonight. Only the number 1 from each group qualifies for phase 3, and this is exactly what the Netherlands is going for!
Phase 3
This phase will be played later this year, probably sometime in November. The four countries that have already qualified are Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain. They finished as numbers 1 to 4 in the previous European Championship. Four more countries will be added, namely the countries that finished first in their pool in phase 2. Together, they form the eight best countries in Europe that will compete for the title. This phase is the highest level of competition and features the absolute best players in European padel. The Netherlands hopes to join this elite group by winning the group stage. The goal is clear, now it's time to make it happen.