Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi continue to shake up the Paris Major 2026 draw. The Spanish pair, seeded 12th, defeated Mike Yanguas and Coki Nieto, seeded 5th, in two sets (6-4, 6-3) to secure a place in the quarterfinals. This performance is all the more impressive after their disappointing showing in Madrid and comes just days before the announcement of the Spanish team for the World Championships. 

The rebound is spectacular. After a  Madrid P1 disappointing Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi responded perfectly at Roland-Garros.

Facing  Mike Yanguas / Coki Nieto The Spanish team controlled their round of 16 match to secure the victory.  6 / 4 6 / 3  and reach the quarterfinals of the Paris Major without having the status of favorites.

"Making a quarter-final in a Major without being among the top seeds is something complicated and something you have to know how to value," Alonso believes.

Conditions that favored Goñi

For Alonso, the Parisian conditions also played a role in the strategy adopted against the 5th seed.

"The court was slightly in our favor. Aimar could hit the ball more than Coki and Mike."

The two men had a plan and managed to stick to it until the very end, including when the time came to conclude.

A particularly welcome display of control after the difficulties encountered a few days earlier in Madrid.

After Madrid, an immediate response to Paris

Goñi does not hide the fact that their previous defeat was difficult to swallow.

But above all, their reaction in Paris allows him to gauge the strength of their project.

"This says a lot about the team we are, about the trust we have in each other."

Alonso goes further. For him, one of the lessons of the last few weeks concerns the current competitiveness of the circuit. A higher ranking no longer guarantees much when a pair enters the track.

"You have to be humble enough to understand that today, you can lose to any pair. There are a huge number of tournaments, the players are improving, and the circuit has become very competitive."

Rather than viewing their Madrid defeat solely as a poor performance, Alonso and Goñi have therefore tried to change their approach to it.

"I'm quite happy to have won"  a small mental battle  "that we had in front of us," Alonso summarizes.

Goñi dedicates the victory to his parents

The qualification also gave rise to a peculiar scene at the end of the match. Goñi immediately turned towards the stands.

He was looking for three people:  his parents and his representative Alejandro .

"They followed what we went through very closely. Last week's defeat was quite tough mentally, and they're the ones who are still here."

The presence of her parents made the moment even more special.

"I'm very happy they're here and to be able to celebrate a victory like this with them. I've never had the opportunity before."

The World Cup is on everyone's mind.

This performance also comes at a particularly interesting time for both players.

The Spanish selection for the next  Championnat du monde  The full lineup should be revealed soon, and several positions are still under discussion.

For Goñi, a first call-up to the senior national team would represent the fulfillment of a dream.

"Representing your country is the greatest thing in sport. For me, it would be a dream come true."

The player has never worn the Spanish jersey in a major international competition, including at the youth level.

This qualification for the quarterfinals of a Major therefore comes at the best time to remind the selector of his name.

Alonso is much more pessimistic about his chances

The speech of Eduardo Alonso  is significantly different. Despite his level and this performance in Paris, he now believes he has a better chance of staying home than being selected.

"Honestly, I don't know if I'm going to go. I'd say I'm more likely not to go than to go. It hurts."

The player himself acknowledges the particularly strong competition on the right in Spain and believes that some of his competitors have shown more consistency this season.

But Alonso also raises an interesting point:  The choice of a selection does not depend solely on the ranking or individual results .

According to him, the coach must take other criteria into consideration when building his team.

"What will determine whether you go or not isn't just your game."

It was a situation he had already experienced during the previous World Cup and which he now seems to accept with more perspective.

"I try to be the best player I can be, the best person I can be. [...] It depends so little on me that I try not to stress about it too much."

"Whatever he does, the coach will be both right and wrong."

The competition from Spain is so fierce that both players also understand why the final list is taking so long to be released.

For Goñi, it's actually a rather good sign:  "That means there are many very good options." 

Alonso sums up the situation with a formula:

"Whatever he does, he will be right and he will be wrong."

Before definitively thinking about the Spanish jersey, Alonso and Goñi still have a major appointment in Paris.

In the quarter-finals,  The 12th seed will face Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto, the 2nd seed. .

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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