The Mexico Waves swept the New York Atlantics to open PPL Playa del Carmen on Thursday. Mexico’s women recovered from a 6–1 first set, while the Waves men won in straight sets. Los Angeles and San Diego split the second matchup, with the Stingrays women winning a close super tiebreak before the Beat men took the final match.
Mexico Waves vs. New York Atlantics: A home sweep
New York’s Marta Talaván and Sofía Saiz Vallejo arrived in Playa after taking third in Los Angeles. They won the first set 6–1 against Mexico’s Lucía Peralta and Patricia Martínez Fortún.
Peralta and Martínez Fortún answered with a 6–3 second set in front of their home crowd. With their fans rallying behind them, they controlled the super tiebreak 10–3 to complete the upset. Mexico’s women had not reached Podium Day this season; the win gives them a chance to change that, with another group match still to play.
David Gala and Maximiliano Arce followed with a 6–2, 6–3 win over Ignacio Vilariño and Javier Martínez to complete Mexico’s sweep. Gala and Arce had won the men’s title together in Los Angeles. This time, Arce beat the New York pair that defeated him and then-partner Franco Dal Bianco in July’s third-place match.
Los Angeles Beat vs. San Diego Stingrays: A close call and a split
San Diego’s Claudia Jensen and Verónica Virseda lost the first set to LA’s Victoria Iglesias Segador and Julia Polo Bautista, then fell behind a break in the second. They recovered to force a super tiebreak, where the Beat led 8–7.
Had Jensen and Virseda lost the next point, they would have faced two match points. Instead, Jensen capped the best point of the match with a passing-shot winner to level the tiebreak at 8–8. They won the next two points to complete the comeback, 4–6, 6–3, 10–8.
The men’s match gave fans a chance to see Leonel “Tolito” Aguirre on the left alongside left-hander Denis Tomás Perino. The LA pair beat San Diego’s José David Sánchez Serrano and José Jiménez Casas 6–4, 6–4, breaking serve in the tenth game of each set.
The win gives LA’s men a real chance to qualify for Podium Day for the first time season. Las Vegas is their final group opponent in Playa, and a place among the top four men’s teams would send them through to Sunday.
Group play continues Friday, with Podium Day places still open in both divisions. Watch Friday's matches and follow the rest of PPL Playa del Carmen on the league’s YouTube channel.
About Pro Padel League
Pro Padel League (PPL) is the world’s leading professional padel league, built for the fastest-growing sport in America. Founded in 2023, PPL features 10 teams across the United States, Canada and Mexico, bringing together the sport’s best players. Each season culminates in The Finals, where the league crowns its men’s, women’s and team champions.
PPL events reach more than 300 million households through distribution partners spanning 100-plus countries. Every event and match is also available worldwide on the league’s YouTube channel.
