Hexagon 2025 – a great Krü!
Hexagon 2025 – a great Krü!
By Minter Dial
The Hexagon Cup 2025, a novel form of a pro padel event now in its second edition, delivered an electrifying tournament that kept fans on the edge of their seats from January 29th to February 2nd in Madrid.
The competition showcased some of the world’s top padel talent, with teams owned by sporting legends (specifically Sergio Agüero, Lionel Messi, Andy Murray, and Robert Lewandowski), padel-happy financiers (including UK-based Loïc Féry and Arran Yentob) and a couple of stars of the big screen (Eva Longoria and the Spanish actress Maria Esteve), battling it out for glory. In total eight teams, made up of the world’s top men and women players as well as ‘next gen’ up-and-coming female players. It made for a very dynamic and different experience than the usual Premier Padel tournaments.
Located in the multi-sport Madrid Arena, with a crowd of around 10,000 on hand, the tournament culminated in a thrilling final between KRÜ Pádel (owned by Messi and Agüero, who was in attendance) and the Rafa Nadal Academy team.
To kick off the final, Gemma Triay and Marta Ortega (the doctor) from the Rafa Nadal Academy eclipsed KRÜ’s Claudia Jensen and Vero Virseda in an exhilirating match.
Down a set and a break, Jensen and Virseda fought back to force a championship tie-break. Each team had – and squandered – match points in a tie-break that ended 13-11. Considering the FIP rankings of Jensen (#10) and Virseda (#12), on paper the team of Triay (#3) and Ortega (#7) should have won. The fight and courage in key points by Jensen and Virseda were particularly inspiring.
Equally, I note that in the group stage, Virseda/Jensen beat world No 1 Paula Josemaría and Alejandra Alonso (#16) by a score of 7-6, 6-2. In fact, neither Josemaria nor her regular partner and co-number 1 in the world, Ariana Sanchez, won a single match at this Hexagon Cup. This proves just how much having the right partner and team chemistry counts.
For the men’s matchup, the combination of Momo González and Fede Chingotto (KRÜ) was too strong for Franco Stupaczuk and Alex Ruiz (Rafa Nadal Academy), winning 6-4, 6-4. This meant that it came down to the ‘next gen’ ladies, where KRÚ’s Marina Lobo and Águeda Pérez Ortiz clinched the title by defeating Noa Canovas and Noemi Aguilar 6-3, 6-4, albeit in a much-depleted arena. Since this was KRÜ’s inaugural participation in the Hexagon Cup, it was easy to see why Agüero was smiling from ear to ear.
Earlier in the day, the bronze medal match between Team AD/Vantage (co-owned by Andy Murray, Arran Yentob, and Anthony Joshua) and Team Bella Puerto Rico provided additional excitement. AD/Vantage secured third place, with Delfi Brea and Sofia Araujo winning their match over Jessica Castello and Andrea Ustero in straight sets, followed up by Juan Tello and Martin Di Nenno downing the on-paper-stronger-team of Coki Nieto and world number 1 Arturo Coello, ultimately securing the bronze medal for their team.
While there were some notable absences among the top-ranked pro players (eg Juan Lebron and Ale Galan), celebrity involvement added a whole other level of star power. There was a morning session where the stars and owners played a round robin, but the arena was basically empty. More for the TV cameras than an entertaining game. The Madrid Arena was packed with sporting celebrities, including Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid manager), Robin Le Normand and Thomas Lemar (both Atletico Madrid players), the legendary cyclist, Alberto Contador, as well as the Spanish TV host Lara Alvarez, and Argentine model Valeria Mazza, among others. With a total purse of €1.2 million on the line, KRÜ Pádel earned €400,000 in lifting the Alpine Hexagon Cup trophy and cementing their place in padel history. It’s worth noting that the prize money went to the full team, not individual players. It is then typically divided among the players and coaching staff according to pre-agreed terms within each team. Additionally, some funds may be allocated for team operations or reinvested into future tournaments, depending on the team’s ownership and management structure.
Thus, the Hexagon Cup 2025 was put to bed. Next up: the Premier Padel elite level pro tour, which will feature 24 tournaments across 16 countries in 2025. This includes at least seven new locations such as Miami, Buenos Aires, Cancún, and Germany. And there will be hundreds of lower level FIP tournaments with the newly streamlined format of Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Presumably, we shall be hearing about the Hexagon 2026 dates in due time. 🎾
