Spanish and Argentine Stars Are Switching Flags to Reach the Padel World Championship

Padel's push to grow beyond Spain and Argentina is quietly changing who gets to wear a national jersey, and not everyone is comfortable with it.

Spanish players now play for the UAE

Inigo Jofre and Arnau Ayats, both Spanish born and both ranked in the world's top 60, took United Arab Emirates nationality to chase a World Padel Championship spot that was out of reach with Spain's deep roster. Jofre is from Tenerife, Ayats from Vic in Catalonia. They compete for the UAE alongside Sergio Icardo and Fran Jurado, another pair of naturalized Spaniards. Ayats has said plainly that a player ranked around 50th in the world has almost no path onto the Spanish team, so representing another federation became the only route to a world championship in the current cycle.

Italy leans on Argentine born talent

Italy has taken a similar route. Facundo Dominguez and Aris Patiniotis, both born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, now play for Italy through family ancestry, Dominguez through a great-grandfather and Patiniotis through Campania roots on his mother's side. The pair became the first Italian team to win a Premier Padel match and have beaten Fernando Belasteguin himself. Several of Italy's current world top 100 men have Argentine roots, a mix that has turned a mid-tier federation into a genuine contender.

A growing debate

Not everyone in padel is comfortable with the trend. Critics argue naturalization is turning national selection into a recruitment exercise rather than a reflection of where players actually grew up and learned the game. Federations counter that the sport is too concentrated in Spain and Argentina for smaller nations to compete otherwise, and that the eligibility rules are the same ones used across Olympic sports.