Qatar’s padel athletes will be pulled into Group D of the Padel World Championship tournament that kicks off this Monday.

Held in Dubai, Qatar will face France, Paraguay, Mexico, and Egypt in the biennial tournament.

Seventeen countries will compete with one another, with Spain returning as the top team in the world rankings after Argentina.

Third-best Brazil will be placed in Group C against Chile, United Arab Emirates, and Ecuador.

Qatar’s men are ranked 16th behind the United States and Denmark.

The tournament will come to an end on 5 November and will align with women padel athletes competing as well.

The women’s side will invite Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Spain, Uruguay, and the US.

Padel passion  

The sport of Padel has swung its way into Qatar’s most popular sports over recent years, with former tennis player Mohammed Saadoun Al Kuwari introducing the game into the country.

Al Kuwari participated in the sport in 2016 with his older brother, who later opened the first Padel club at Qatar Sports Club.

“We fell in love with the sport, even got addicted to it. The community’s reaction is amazing. It’s an easy sport to learn, and because there’s four players, it’s very social as well,” said Al Kuwari.

As a sports capital, Qatar has hosted several padel tournaments, from the World Padel Championship in 2021 to Qatar’s Olympic Committee’s (QOC) second edition of the Padel Tournament in 2020, which oversaw 304 players.