‘I get tired of losing, but I don't get tired of winning’: Gemma Triay on padel, ambition and Dubai

Résumé détaillé

World No 1 reflects on a record-breaking year, her World Cup triumph with Spain and the sport's growing popularity in the UAE as she targets another title at the Dubai Premier Padel P1

Picture this: you’re playing on a padel court set up in Dubai Opera Garden, with Burj Khalifa lit up on one side, and water swaying from the emirate’s iconic fountain on the other, in the heart of Downtown Dubai.

At the court, you’re accompanied by a group of the best padel players in the world, along with distinguished VIPs that include Spanish football legend Andres Iniesta, former world No 2 tennis player Paula Badosa, and retired Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.

The picture-perfect setting made for a great occasion to mark the kick-off of the Emaar Dubai Premier Padel P1 tournament, which began on Sunday at the Hamdan Sports Complex and will run until November 15.

“We spent a really good time yesterday in this event,” Spanish world No 1 Gemma Triay told The National on Monday, ahead of the start of her Dubai campaign.

“I love Dubai, last year the tournament was really good, but this year is even better.”

Triay is the most decorated woman in the history of professional padel and is in the midst of a hectic triple-header in the Gulf, which started with a run to the Kuwait Major title, alongside her partner Delfina Brea, followed by a triumph with Team Spain at the World Cup in Qatar last week, and now resumes with an attempt at the Dubai P1 crown.

Three important events contested in as many weeks in the Arabian Gulf region before the tour wraps up the season with two final stops: Acapulco for the Mexico Major (November 23-29) and Barcelona for the Premier Padel Finals (December 10-13).

Triay and Brea entered Kuwait desperate to claim the 2,000 points on offer to help them reach their goal of securing the year-end No 1 ranking.

To do so, the Spanish-Argentine duo had to take down the in-form pair of Ariana Sanchez and Andrea Ustero, who had reached five consecutive finals and won three of their past four tournaments.

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