From Franco Stupaczuk to Martín Di Nenno, alongside Ale Salazar and Verónica Virseda. The start of the FIP Platinum Albania – scheduled from Tuesday 26 to Saturday 30 May in Skanderbeg Square, Tirana – is drawing ever closer, and both the men’s and women’s entry lists promise a high-level event, with 32 top players from the top 30 of the FIP Ranking entered in the tournament. The world stars of Padel will arrive in the Albanian capital with one objective: to lift the winners’ trophy at the first historic edition of this CUPRA FIP Tour event.
MEN Leading the men’s main draw are Franco Stupaczuk and Mike Yanguas, numbers 6 and 7 in the FIP Ranking and finalists this year at the Premier Padel P2 in Newgiza. Stupaczuk is the reigning world champion: in 2024, with the Argentina national team, he defeated Spain in the final of the FIP World Padel Championships. Alongside Yanguas, he also won the Newgiza P2 in 2024. Franco and Mike will be chasing their first title of the season, but to achieve it they will have to overcome opponents of the highest level. Chief among them are Coki Nieto, world champion with Spain in 2021, and Jon Sanz, currently numbers 10 and 11 in the FIP Ranking respectively. The pair produced one of the most unexpected achievements in recent Padel history by winning the Premier Padel Finals 2024 against Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello. In that final, Sanz and Nieto saved two match points in the second set and ended the world number ones’ streak of 47 consecutive victories. Attention in Albania will also be on the reunion of Javi Leal and Fran Guerrero, who will be aiming for a second FIP Platinum title of the year after their triumph in Marseille last February. They too will be in Tirana seeking another major result. The event in Tirana will be the final tournament together for Martín Di Nenno and Momo González, winners of the FIP Gold in Almaty at the beginning of April. Alongside Stupaczuk and Di Nenno – who formed the “Superpibes” for many years, one of the most spectacular pairs in padel history – the entry list also includes other world champions ready to entertain the crowd in Tirana: Tino Libaak, Maxi Sánchez, Álex Ruiz and Argentine legend Miguel Lamperti.
WOMEN On the courts of Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, there will also be the most successful player in Padel history with 58 titles: Ale Salazar. The Spanish legend will look to add further silverware to her career alongside 2006-born Alejandra Alonso. The pair will target the title after their unfortunate retirement in the final of the FIP Platinum Marseille, caused by an ankle injury sustained by Alonso, against Lucía Sainz and Raquel Eugenio. Eugenio, born in 2008, will also be in Tirana and will compete alongside the partner with whom she won three FIP Silver titles in 2026: Martina Fassio. Seeded number 2 will be Verónica Virseda and Marina Guinart, semi-finalists at the Mexican P2 in Cancún. Close behind are Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga, as well as this year’s FIP Gold Almaty champions Aranzazu Osoro and Victoria Iglesias. Among the participants, in addition to Salazar, there are also two more world champions: Patty Llaguno and Jessica Castelló, both representing Spain.