A new era? What the Riyadh P1 tells us about Ari Sanchez & Andrea Ustero’s fight to become World No.1s

The Premier Padel season for 2026 has only just begun.

Its first chapter, the Riyadh Season P1 closed in spectacular fashion, with the women’s final stealing the show on Valentine‘s Day with an incredible result for the new pairing of Ari Sanchez and Andrea Ustero.

Ustero, at just 18, received the call at the end of last season to become Ari Sanchez’s new partner.

Can a raw and rising talent in the women’s game mix it with the best? Can she take her opportunity and elevate her game to another level with a legend of the game?

Ari Sanchez’ split from Paula Josemaría was both a shock, yet at the same time not improbable.

Rifts started to show between Sanchez and Josemaría last season, with the pairing losing out on top honours at the Barcelona Tour Finals 2025 in the semifinal to Bea Gonzalez and Claudia Fernández.

Just months prior, they had lost their World No.1 ranking to Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay, and it was only ever trending one way for the one-time formidable force in women’s padel.

Enter Andrea Ustero.

At just 17, she spent last season playing with the relentless Sofia Araújo, and received a crash-course in standard-setting under the mentorship of Portugal‘s top player.

There were question marks last year over her maturity. Ustero possesses power, unpredictability, and a magic that, on her day, can put any team to the sword.

But last season we saw glimpses, understandably, of a young impatient talent that whose emotions got the better of her in key moments last year.

Enter Ari Sanchez.

Ari Sanchez has the maturity and professionalism to help Ustero develop in the next phase of her career, and it showed in the Riyadh P1 Final on Saturday.

In just one tournament, Ari Sanchez and Andrea Ustero gone from being two individuals, to becoming a partnership.

One set down to the World No. 1s, the pair didn’t panic. When Ari Sanchez was off her game in the beginning phase of the game, Ustero stepped up.

When Ustero came under pressure from Brea and Triay, the magic Ari Sanchez arrived on Centre Court.

Saturday’s final in Riyadh is a warning to the rest of the tour.

It was a warning that Sanchez and Ustero are here to compete for the World No.1 spot.

It was a warning to Bea Gonzalez and Paula Josemaría, who struggled in the Saudi Arabian sun, that they will need to dramatically improve if they are to win titles this season.

It was a warning to 19-year-old Claudia Fernández of the levels she and her new partner Sofia Araújo will need to reach to take titles of Ustero and Sanchez this season.

And most importantly, it was a warning to Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea, that the turbulence of breakups and new pairings for 2026 has not offered them a free run at Premier Padel titles this season.

There is a lot of padel to be played between now and the Barcelona Tour Finals in December, but the Riyadh Season P1 has already quashed the idea that Brea and Triay would be unrivalled champions this season.

As Ustero and Sanchez celebrate their victory in Riyadh, all eyes will be on the Qatar Major in April, the first major of the season, which will tell us much more about where these teams are really at.

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