Padel Pilipinas defends Asia Pacific crown at home
MANILA, Philippines — Padel Pilipinas withstood massive pressure on its home court to retain the professional division title in the Asia Pacific Padel Cup (APPC) 2026 recently at the Play Padel McKinley West in Taguig City.
Stacked against a powerhouse field from seven countries, the Filipinos pulled off a dominant 3-0 sweep across the men’s, women’s and mixed categories. The brilliant performance asserted their supremacy in the prestigious tournament, further solidifying the country's position as the epicenter of global padel competition in the Asia-Pacific region.
The pair of LA Cañizares and Jason Tamayo set the tempo early, dominating the tandem of Abdullah Adnan and Muhammad Salar of Prescott Development Team of Pakistan, 6-3, 6-3, in the men’s division.
The hosts also recorded victories in the women’s and mixed doubles, with Marian Capadocia and Joanna Tao Yee Tan prevailing over Aqsa Khalid and Sheeza Sajid while Capadocia later teamed up with Tamayo in the mixed doubles to complete their successful campaign.
With the victory, Padel Pilipinas successfully defended its pro division crown. Prescott Development Team settled for first runner-up honors, while Ace Padel India secured the second runner-up spot following a 2-1 win over PadThai Padel Thailand.
Tamayo and Tao Yee Tan also bagged individual accolades, emerging as the male and female Most Valuable Players (MVP) in the four-day event that was organized by the Asia Pacific Padel Tour and Padel Pilipinas — the national sports association recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee, and led by president Jeff Cheng and founder Senator Pia Cayetano.
Cheng, who is synonymous with sports excellence after managing the national women’s football team’s historic run in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, noted that hosting the APPC is just the starting point for their grassroots mission.
“Being a young sport, the idea is to promote it and get more people to participate, and I think it’s about building the entire ecosystem by first having the right coaches. By having the right coaches, we build the right foundation for the players,” Cheng said.
“Right now, we actually have programs to support padel clubs around the country and train coaches as well. And, of course, we’re trying to seek private and government support in building more courts so that more people can participate.”
Aside from the elite professional tier, Padel Pilipinas also staged an amateur division to cater to the sport's developmental ranks.
GoPadel of Taiwan emerged victorious in the amateur tournament after edging Prescott Development Team, 2-1. Team Philippines settled for second runner-up honors following a 3-0 sweep of South Korea.
Representing the host country were Dennis Maglinas, Vince Serna, Jack Cruz, Keno Enriquez, and Gabriel Gurria in the men’s division as well as Nadine Sebastian, Maxine Sebastian, Yanni Collins and Mayumi Toribio in the women’s division.
The Taiwanese pair of Chuan-Yu Chiu and Pei-Chuan Kao earned the male and female MVP honors in the amateur division after displaying exceptional skill and resolve that raised the competitive bar of the tournament and signaled a highly promising trajectory for the sport in the region. (Pool story)
- Latest
- Trending
