FIP EURO PADEL CUP
The European Padel Championships have begun again! More specifically, the FIP Euro Padel Cup. The Netherlands will, of course, be participating again this year in both the men's and women's events. The tournament will take place from July 7th to 13th in Madrid. Compared to last year's European Championships, there are some changes this year. The tournament has been revamped. This year, it's divided into three different phases, which I'll explain below.
Phase 1
This phase was newly added to the European Championships this year. The FIP wanted to give more countries the opportunity to participate. A total of 15 countries are participating in the women's event and 21 in the men's event. These are countries that are currently outside the top 16. From July 8th to 10th, they will compete in groups. Because padel is not yet uniformly popular everywhere, the difference in level between some countries is too great. Therefore, these countries are in a separate phase. The top 5 countries from this round will advance to phase 2.
Phase 2
This phase features the countries that finished 5th through 16th at the previous European Championship. The Netherlands is among them, having finished in an impressive 5th place last time. Because the Netherlands performed best in this group, they are seeded first in a group. This narrows down to 16th place. The top five countries from phase 1 will also be added to this phase, completing the field. The draw for this phase will be announced tonight. Only the top finisher from each group will advance to phase 3, and that's exactly what the Netherlands is aiming for!
Phase 3
This phase will not be played until later this year, likely sometime in November. The four countries that have already qualified directly are Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain. They finished first through fourth at the previous European Championship. Four more countries will join them, namely the countries that finished first in their group in phase 2. Together, they form the eight best European countries that will compete for the title. This phase has the highest level, and the absolute top players of European padel will compete. The Netherlands hopes to join this elite by winning the group stage. The goal is clear; now it's time to make it happen.
