This is one of the surprises of these round of 32 matches.  Madrid P1 .  Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi , seeded 12th, were eliminated in their first match by  José Solano Marmolejo and Ramiro Pereyra , who had come through qualifying. The Spanish team had won the first set before their opponents turned the match around:  3/6 6/3 6/4 .

This poor performance takes on a particular dimension two months before the  2026 World Cup in Doha The composition of the Spanish national team remains highly anticipated. Alonso and Goñi are among the players likely to shake up the hierarchy and secure one of the eight spots.

Solano / Pereyra take their revenge

The surprise is all the greater because Alonso/Goñi had dominated this same pair less than a month earlier .

In the round of 16 of the  London P1 The 11th seed had won decisively  6/2 6/3 against Solano / Pereyra , before pushing Paquito Navarro and Martín Di Nenno to the third set in the quarter-finals.

In Madrid, the balance of power shifted. Solano and Pereyra, once again coming through qualifying, managed to defeat Alonso and Goñi this time, despite losing the first set.

For the two Spaniards, the tournament therefore ends in the round of 32.

Edu Alonso wants his place with Spain

This elimination comes especially just days after the statements of Edu Alonso on the World Cup .

The Spanish player makes no secret of his ambition to join the national team.  Juanjo Gutiérrez  and believes that the ranking will not necessarily be the only factor taken into account when choosing the eight players.

Edu Alonso: “Two years before the World Cup, I was ahead of Alex Ruiz in the rankings. So the level of play isn't the only criterion.”

Alonso specifically recalled his situation two years ago: he was then ranked higher than Álex Ruiz, who was ultimately selected for Spain. This experience leads him to say today that  "The level of play is not the only criterion."  in a selection.

The Valencian is one of Spain's many options on the right. And in a squad where competition is particularly fierce, performances in the weeks leading up to the squad announcement could certainly be a deciding factor.

Goñi, Arturo Coello's bet

The case  Aimar Goñi  is different again.

His progress and highly offensive style have made him one of the Spanish revelations of recent months. So much so that Arturo Coello included him in his own ideal eight-man squad to represent Spain at the 2026 World Cup. .

Aimar Goñi: “Arturo represents exactly what I would like to do on a track”

The world number 1 had chosen Goñi over players such as  Javi Garrido, Javi Leal or Momo González , proof of the current popularity of the young Spaniard.

Obviously, Coello is not the coach. But his choice illustrates well the debate currently surrounding Goñi: his ranking does not necessarily place him among the eight most obvious choices, but his potential and characteristics could make him an interesting profile in a team competition.

A defeat that can be significant, but not insurmountable.

It would be excessive to consider this elimination at Madrid P1 as a definitive turning point in the race for the World Cup.  Juanjo Gutiérrez will obviously not build his team on the result of a single tournament. 

But the problem for Alonso and Goñi comes mainly from the competition.

Spain has a considerable reservoir and only  Eight players could be selected for Doha The choices will therefore have to be made between players who, for the most part, play at the highest international level.

In this context, every strong performance can strengthen a candidacy and every premature exit can leave an opening for a competitor.

 Alonso and Goñi had made a strong case for themselves with their quarter-final appearance in London. Their elimination in their opening match in Madrid represents a significant setback. 

Not necessarily enough to close the doors of the Spanish national team to them, but certainly not the result they were hoping for at the time when  The battle for the eight places at the 2026 World Cup is entering its final stretch. .

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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