All about how the European Championship is played

The International Padel Federation explains in an interview with Padel Alto´s Swedish sister site PadelDirekt how the European Championship is planned to be carried out.

— Hopefully, there will be a lot of spectators, says FIP's Queco Catalan to PadelDirekt.

The team matches will be played in the evenings after 17.00, is the idea.

— Well, we usually do that because it's less hot in the evening and there's more chance for supporters to come here in the evening, International Padel Federation (FIP) competition manager Queco Catalan to Padel Alto´s sister site PadelDirekt. 

The European Championships will be held indoors and outdoors at the newly built La Canada European Championships venue, a few hundred metres from the shopping centre with the same name. An area that is geographically located just outside the city centre of Marbella can be difficult to find. 

— There are different conditions to play indoors or outdoors. For example, out here, it gets hot, it's windy... you have to be able to deal with everything," Catalan continues. 

The FIP is looking forward to welcoming the spectators despite the heat, and that communication about the European Championships has been minimal.

— Hopefully, there will be a lot of spectators. We expect there to be. We can accommodate up to 4000 people out here, but I don't think it will be that many. We hope it won't just be Spaniards, but also people from other countries. The European Team Championships are the most important, and we're giving them priority over the open class," says Catalan.

The European Championship schedule

Group stage

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (28, 29 and 30). Total of 16 nations on the men's side and 13 nations on the women's side. Four groups with four teams in each. First and second place in the group advance to the quarter-finals of the A finals. The rest will play in the B finals.

— We always draw the championships the day before, so this will occur during an opening ceremony on Sunday. Then, at 7.30 pm, we will do the draw live," says competition director Queco Catalan.

Play-off

Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Team finals will be played on Saturday. Open class finals on Sunday