San Marino - Heart of the padel world

The international CSIT Amateur Padel World Championship 2024 from November 1 to 3 came to a successful conclusion on Sunday. The competition celebrated the spirit of sportsmanship, inclusivity and passion for padel, recorded exciting participation and provided moments of pure entertainment and bonding. San Marino took the men's amateur world title. The women's title went to Italy. The best foreign team was Austria in fourth place in the mixed competition.

The event, organized by San Marino Welcome under the patronage of CSIT, the International Confederation of Amateur Sports, brought together amateur teams and players from Austria, Finland, Spain, France, San Marino, Italy and Greece, who competed in an atmosphere of fair play and sharing. With more than 110 matches played on the fields of San Marino's Wonderbay, the competition brought out an astonishing technical level, making for an engaging experience for participants and spectators alike.

"We are proud to have hosted an event that celebrates sport for all and allows amateur athletes to compete in an international context," said David Bologna, manager of the organization, during the awards ceremony. "This championship is not just a sporting competition, but a platform where tourism and cultural exchange merge with sport, in line with the values CSIT promotes around the world."

The CSIT World Amateur Padel Championship reaffirmed its mission to spread sport as a tool for inclusion, well-being and personal growth. Also in San Marino, CSIT President Bruno Molea: "I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to the entire San Marino Welcome team, the CSIT Technical Commission and its head of the padel section, Mauro Marino, as well as the coordinating CSIT Sports Director, Harold Van Hest, and the coordinator of the tennis technical commission, Harald Burghard, for the impeccable organization of this prestigious international sporting event, the first ever edition of the CSIT International Padel Championship."

A first edition that exceeded expectations and paves the way for a series of prestigious sports events in the Republic. The Secretary of State for Tourism Federico Pedini Amati: "the importance of events like this for tourism is absolute, the Secretariat of State supports and sustains them recognizing their promotional value but also in consideration of their importance for the hotel sector in a season that is less attractive for tourism. Congratulations and winners thank you from the bottom of my heart to the organizers and the international bodies that made it possible to bring this event to the Republic of San Marino."

Each match was attended by a passionate audience, which supported the teams in a festive and participatory atmosphere. The tournament featured 4 categories of play, offering participants the opportunity to compete in both men's and women's doubles, as well as in mixed doubles and in the over-45 bracket.

In men's doubles, the victory and the title of world amateur padel champions went to San Marino's Wonderbay pair, Enrico Pozzi and Luca Carli, in an all-white final against Edoardo Clementi and Alex Santi. Third-place finishers Daniele Rodrighieri and Mauro Coaro. In the women's category, the gold medal goes to Italy's Carla Di Domenico and Maria Antonietta Di Marco who beat in a spectacular final, followed in streaming by the commentary of the celebrated coach Luca Romani, the San Marino team Cristina Baciocchi - Giulia Tomassucci. Bronze for Sara Della Penna and Federica Priori. In the mixed, the world title goes to Riccardo Raffa and Roberta Lucchini, silver to Christian Abbafati and Damiama Di Mario and bronze to Emanuele Munelli and Roberta Liberati. For the over45 world title to the duo Stefano Corruccini - Fabio Salvini who beat Francesco Tiselli and Tiziano Tarantino. Third place finishers Fabio Gennari and Gianluca Pennino. First of the foreigners was the Austrian pair of Floria Bohm and Sofia Flutterknecht, who finished fourth in the mixed tournament.