This weekend, international Padel will write a new chapter in its global expansion with the first-ever CUPRA FIP Tour event in Hungary, where the FIP Bronze Hungary will take place in Budapest. The country is among the 17 new nations that in 2026 will host, or have already hosted, a tournament on the circuit and where, according to data from the International Padel Federation’s World Padel Report 2025, there are already 30,000 amateur players.
Julieta Bidahorria, No. 39 in the FIP Ranking, and Ekaterina Nikitina are the favourites for victory in the women’s draw. The pair are the No. 1 seeds in the tournament and will arrive in Hungary aiming to lift the winners’ trophy. This year, Bidahorria has already won the FIP Silver in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The main contenders for the title include Raquel Pitcher, winner of the FIP Bronze Wadi in Egypt in February, and Christina-Styliani Ntanou. The pairs of Aimee Gibson-Janine Hemmes and Natalia Molinilla-Ainize Santamaria are also ones to watch. In 2026, the latter became champion at the FIP Bronze Dakar in Senegal in June and at the FIP Bronze Joinville in Brazil, held in March.
Leading the men’s draw are Jaime Perez Martin-Sergio Tierno Herraro. The tournament’s No. 1 seeds are positioned in the upper half of the draw alongside Aaron Garcia Rubio and Sergio Arias Aznar. In the opposite section are Jose Rico-Juan Cruz Forastello and Simone Vaccari-Matteo Rosingana. Daniel Appelgren and Douglas Rutgersson are also among the players to follow in this tournament.
The post The CUPRA FIP Tour debuts in Hungary: Budapest welcomes the first edition appeared first on Padel FIP.
Fuente: FIP