A historic first day
Padel became an Asian Games sport for the first time on Monday 28 September 2026, as competition opened at the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center. Spectators were already queuing outside before the doors opened for the first day of the padel programme at the XX Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Athletes from 13 nations entered the two events. The men's draw featured 20 pairs, led by Qatar's Mashari and Rashed Naif, followed by Iran's Farsad Shahi and Amirmohammad Jamshidi and Malaysia's Christian Chin and Aidan Yunus. The women's draw featured 23 pairs, with Japan's Chifumi Sato and Kotomi Ozawa seeded first and compatriots Saki Tsukamoto and Kae Tokumoto seeded second.
Indonesia entered two pairs in each event. In the men's draw, Valentinus Dyas and Armando Soemarno were seeded eighth and Giorgio Soemarno and Alvin Edison eleventh. In the women's draw, Novela Putria and Beatrice Gumulya were seeded third and Fadona Kusumawati and Fitriani Sabatini seventh.
Men's event
All four men's first-round matches were played on Day 1, and three of them went the distance.
The home crowd got the start it wanted. Japan's Teruaki Ando and Shinnosuke Nakamura edged a tie-break in the opening set and held their nerve in the decider to beat Lebanon's Tamim El Hallak and Ralph Tohme 7-6(4) 2-6 6-4.
Indonesia's first match of the Games ended in defeat. The Philippines' Jason Lapidus and Argil Canizares beat Giorgio Soemarno and Alvin Edison 6-1 6-4.
Hong Kong's Mohammed Khan and Sean Lo Escoto came from a set down to beat Kazakhstan's Zhakas Kozbak and Rodion Pak 3-6 7-5 6-4, while Kazakhstan's Timur Khabibulin and Yevgeniy Danilov won a deciding-set tie-break against Qatar's Hassan Waly and Mohammed Al-Kuwari, 7-5 2-6 7-6(3).
Women's event
The Philippines also made a strong start in the women's draw, where Danna Abad and Joshea Malazarte beat Saudi Arabia's Samaher Kurdi and Lina Alabdullatif 6-1 6-0. Abad told the FIP that padel's inclusion gives more Filipino players the chance to represent their country.
Kuwait's Mariam Alsarraj and Dalal Alqenaei beat Kazakhstan's Aigerim Suleimen and Tatyana Giorgadze 6-1 6-1, setting up a round-of-16 meeting with Kusumawati and Sabatini. Iran's Saba Najafidehaghi and Neda Mohammadtaghipour beat the United Arab Emirates' Fatma Bin Shahdoor and Maryam Alhashimih 7-6(4) 6-3.
Both Indonesian women's pairs received first-round byes and will start their campaigns in the round of 16.
Day 1 results
Men's round of 32: Ando/Nakamura (JPN) bt El Hallak/Tohme (LBN) 7-6(4) 2-6 6-4; Khan/Lo Escoto (HKG) bt Kozbak/Pak (KAZ) 3-6 7-5 6-4; Khabibulin/Danilov (KAZ) bt Waly/Al-Kuwari (QAT) 7-5 2-6 7-6(3); Lapidus/Canizares (PHI) bt G. Soemarno/Edison (INA) 6-1 6-4.
Women's round of 32: Abad/Malazarte (PHI) bt Kurdi/Alabdullatif (KSA) 6-1 6-0; Alsarraj/Alqenaei (KUW) bt Suleimen/Giorgadze (KAZ) 6-1 6-1; Najafidehaghi/Mohammadtaghipour (IRI) bt Bin Shahdoor/Alhashimih (UAE) 7-6(4) 6-3.
Up next
Day 2 on Tuesday 29 September begins at 9am local time with the remaining women's first-round matches, followed by the opening round-of-16 ties from 4pm. Kusumawati and Sabatini open Indonesia's women's campaign against Alsarraj and Alqenaei.
