Madrid, January 18th 2024 – Little by little the latest details are being revealed about the Hexagon Cup, the new padel tournament whose mission is to transform the sport of 20 x 10 and which will be held in Madrid from January 31st to February 4th 2024. In this case, the tournament organization announces the roster of coaches and trainers that each team has selected to sit on the benches during this first edition, where big names of the world scene stand out.
"We are delighted to be able to announce the coaches that will be part of each of the teams participating in this first edition of Hexagon Cup," said Carlos Almazán, Sporting General Manager, Hexagon Cup. "Firm in our commitment to offer fans the best padel in the world, we will not only have the best stars of this sport on the court, but we will also have the best coaches on the planet by their side. In this way, each team has put together its own Dream Team with the goal of taking home the cup," added Almazán.
Hexagon Team
The Hexagon Cup team will have two great stalwarts of the benches as Ramiro Choya and Maria Silvela. Ramiro Choya will be reunited with Paquito Navarro, who he already took to the top of the ranking in 2019, thus beginning a third stage with the Sevillian. This true pioneer in the world of padel has already had under his orders great players of the circuit such as Pablo Lima, Álex Ruiz and Pablo Lijó, in addition to being national coach of Qatar. On the other hand, Maria Silvela is one of the great references of women's paddle, and has an enviable record in which stand out 13 Spanish championships and two world titles as a player. In addition, she leads the Golf Olivar de la Hinojosa paddle school.
Both will offer the team all their experience and knowledge of the sport, with the aim of helping Paquito Navarro, Juan Martin Diaz, Alejandra Salazar, Tamara Icardo and Next Gen Pablo Cardona (19 years old) and Alonso Rodriguez (20) so that the title "stays at home".
Rafa Nadal Academy Team powered by Richard Mille
The team of the prestigious academy of the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles will have on its benches the Argentinean duo formed by Rodrigo Ovide and Carlos Pozzoni. Ovide, with more than 10 years of professional coaching career, has coached great male players such as Martín di Nenno, Álex Ruiz or Sanyo Gutiérrez, to name just a few, and has taken Gemma Lucía Sainz and Gemma Triay to the top of the women's ranking (2020), and the duo formed by Triay and Alejandra Salazar (2021). In his almost 2 decades on the bench, Pozzoni has directed the careers of top players such as Franco Stupaczuk, Bea Gonzalez, Marta Ortega and Marta Marrero, among others. He is currently the coach of world number two players Franco Stupaczuk and Martin di Nenno.
This duo of coaches will be in charge of leading, from the benches, the good performance of the team formed by Gemma Triay, Martita Ortega, Franco Stupaczuk, Álex Ruiz and the young promises Guillermo Collado and Daniel Santigosa.
RL9 Team
The team of Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, meanwhile, will have Maxi Gabriel and Marcela Ferrari on the bench. Maxi, who retired just a couple of seasons ago, stood out as a player with more than 5 World Padel Tour titles, while as a coach he has directed great figures of this sport such as Martita Ortega, Bea González, Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz. Marcela, on the other hand, has been one of the people who gave more visibility and power to the role of female coach in her day as coach of the number one pairing formed by Belasteguín and Lima. Last year she was the coach of Zazu Osoro and Lucia Sainz, and also holds the position of national coach of Italy and director of the padel school Club Esportiu Laietà.
Under her orders, a constellation of stars such as the male and female world number 1 Agustín Tapia and Ariana Sánchez, who will be accompanied by Claudia Jensen, Jon Sanz and the Next gen David Gala and Enzo Jensen. One of the great favorites to lift the champion trophy of this first edition of Hexagon Cup.
AD/vantage Team
Andy Murray, Arran Yentrob and Dani Vallverdú are the leaders of the AD/vantage Team, which represents the United Kingdom. This formation will have as coaches Nito Brea and Seba Nerone, two referents of paddle tennis worldwide. The first has a long career as a coach, more than 30 years in which he has guided the careers of great stars such as Sanyo Gutierrez and Maxi Sanchez (whom he took to number 1 in the world in 2018) or Seba Nerone himself, with whom he will share the bench. For his part, Nerone former world number 1 (2001) and with 10 titles under his belt as a player, has led great players like Mapi and Majo Sanchez, "The Atomic Twins".
Under his orders they will have a great team that aspires to everything and that is formed by Martin di Nenno, Juan Tello, Delfina Brea, Sofia Araujo and the young Pablo Garcia and Pol Hernandez.
ElevenEleven Team USA
The ElevenEleven Team USA owned by Eva Longoria, renowned actress, director, entrepreneur and activist, and Dani Homedes, from Dara Sport, announced Fernando Belasteguín and Paula Josemaría as franchise players. They are joined by Luciano Capra (15th in the FIP ranking) and the very young Alejandra Alonso (17 years old), 34th in the FIP lists.
The Next Gen selected by the team are Alex Chozas (20 years old), ranked 123 FIP and who this year participated in his first main draw at the Granada Open, and Emilio Sanchez (20 years old), ranked 107 and cadet world champion in 2019.
From the benches, the team with Miguel Sciorilli, coach of some of the best padel couples as the one formed by Fernando Belasteguín and Juan Martín Díaz, also accompanied for 5 years to Ari Sánchez on his way to the number one of the world or national coach of Italy for the World Cup of 2022, and Willy Lahoz, a Spanish padel legend with several titles to his name (the two WPT titles won consecutively with Bela stand out) and with the record of being the oldest player (44 years old, tied with Bela) to win a professional tournament. He is currently a coach at M3, one of the most important high performance academies in Madrid.
Team Bella Puerto Rico
Finally, Team Bella of Puerto Rico, led by Carlos López-Lay and María Esteve, Puerto Rican businessmen and owners of the Bella automotive group, will have Gustavo Pratto and Jorge Martínez. Pratto leads the academy that bears his name, through which some of the most important names in padel have passed, such as Paula Josemaría and Arturo Coello, current number 1 in the men's and women's world rankings, as well as Miguel Lampertti, Lucho Capra and Juani Mieres, among others. Jorge Martinez is the founder of the renowned M3 academy and current coach of Bea Gonzalez and Delfina Brea.
The team representing the Caribbean country has among its ranks world-class stars such as Arturo Coello, Coki Nieto, Bea Gonzalez, Claudia Gonzalez and Next Gen Fran Guerrero and Rodrigo Coello.
An all-star tournament to take padel to the next level
Born under the motto "For the Fans. For the Players. For the Game", Hexagon Cup is an innovative padel tournament where the world’s top male, female and Next Gen players compete together in teams for an impressive prize of one million euros, creating an exciting team competition and a unique experience for fans.
Teams include the Rafa Nadal Academy Team powered by Richard Mille, Robert Lewandowski's RL9 Team, Andy Murray's Ad/vantage Team, Eva Longoria's ElevenEleven Team USA and Carlos Lopez-Lay and Maria Esteve's Team Bella Puerto Rico.
On the player side, fans of the tournament will be treated to a star-studded constellation including the world number one pair Arturo Coello (Team Bella Puerto Rico) and Agustin Tapia (RL9 Team), who will this time play against each other on opposing teams, as too will ‘Los Súperpibes’ Stupaczuk (Rafa Nadal Academy, powered by Richard Mille) and Di Nenno (Team AD/vantage). On the Women’s side of the draw, world number 1 FIP ranked Paula Josemaría (ElevenEleven Team USA) and Ariana Sánchez (RL9 Team) will also face each other. With other big names including Paquito Navarro, Juan Martín Díaz, Alejandra Salazar, Delfina Brea, Bea González, Fernando Belasteguin and Luciano Capra, along with the most exciting up and coming Next Gen stars of the future, there will be plenty of top padel action on display.
During the tournament itself, the six teams will be divided into two qualifying groups and compete in a series of exciting head-to-head matches. Only the top two pairs from each group will advance to the finals weekend, where the inaugural Hexagon Cup champion will be crowned with a prize pool of €1 million at stake.
The first edition of the Hexagon Cup will take place at the historic Madrid Arena from 31 January to 4 February, an ideal setting to create a great spectacle. Hours of top padel action, during what is usually the quiet off-season, and a big sporting experience. An exciting and interactive Fan Zone, like no other in the sport, including live music concerts, player appearances, top padel brands, and an excellent range of gastronomy options, and of course top matches every day.
Tickets for this historic first edition of the star-studded event can be purchased now from €20 via www.hexagoncup.com.
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