For about twenty minutes on Sunday afternoon, Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto had the Paris Major. They had taken the second set, they led the third 3-0, and they were serving for the biggest title of their partnership. They lost it 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(1), and Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello have now won this tournament four years in succession.
That is the short version. The long version is the one that will bother Galán and Chingotto for a while.
The Twenty Minutes That Decided It
The first set went to the No.1s at 6-3 with the efficiency that has defined their season. The second belonged to Galán and Chingotto, 6-4, and it was earned rather than gifted — they were the better pair for a clear stretch, and the Roland-Garros crowd, 15,000 of them on finals day, responded accordingly.
Then the decider. Three games clear, serving for the match, and a first Paris Major in sight. Tapia and Coello broke back. The pair drew level at 5-5, forced the tie-break, and won it 7-1 — a scoreline that suggests the contest had already been settled somewhere other than the scoreboard.
This is the pattern of the 2026 men's tour in miniature. Across their finals against each other this season, the margins have been slender and the outcome has usually been the same.
Sánchez and Ustero Were Merciless
The women's final was the opposite of a thriller. Ariana Sánchez and Andrea Ustero beat Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo 6-2, 6-0 — the most one-sided final of the season at this level, against the pair who had spent the summer being talked about as the sport's coming force.
For Sánchez it is a third Paris Major. For Ustero, 19, it is confirmation that the partnership Sánchez chose over her long alliance with Paula Josemaría was not a sentimental bet. Their reward in the rankings is immediate: Sánchez climbs to world No.3 on 14,071 points, above both González and Josemaría.
81,000 People
The tournament drew 81,000 spectators across the week, a record for the event, with the finals weekend sold out at roughly 15,000 a day. The inaugural Padel Festival on 6 September brought in another 11,217 on its own.
Those numbers matter beyond the marketing. Roland-Garros is the venue every other padel event is measured against, and the argument that padel can fill a major tennis stadium for a week is no longer theoretical.
Where It Leaves The Rankings
Coello and Tapia stay joint No.1 on 20,526 points each. Galán and Chingotto are joint third on 18,331 — closer than they were a month ago, which is the small consolation available after Sunday. The gap at the top of the women's game is narrower still: Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea hold No.1 on 17,046, with Sánchez now within 3,000 points.
Next up is Rotterdam from 28 September. Galán and Chingotto will have had a fortnight to think about serving at 3-0.