Paraguay Stuns Argentina for Men's Padel Gold as Vilchez and Mosca Sweep Women's Title in Rafaela

Paraguay pulled off the biggest upset of the padel competition at the South American Games on Friday, with Martin Abud and Facundo Dehnike beating home favorites Ignacio Piotto and Santino Contreras 6-4, 7-6(5) to win the men's gold medal in Rafaela.

A tiebreak decider

The final at the Centro de Padel del Invencible drew more than 3,000 spectators who came out to back the Argentine pair. Abud and Dehnike took the first set 6-4, then held their nerve in a tight second-set tiebreak to close out the title. Piotto and Contreras settled for silver. Uruguay's pair, Ensslin and Artia, beat Chile's Negrete and Salinas 6-2, 6-2 to take the bronze medal.

Argentina sweeps the women's draw

Argentina had better luck in the women's final. Victoria Vilchez, 16, and Maria Mosca beat Chile's Kimberley Ahumada and Catalina Arancibia 6-2, 6-3 to win gold without dropping a set all week. It marked the first time women's padel has handed out an official medal at the South American Games. The pair said afterward that they felt lucky to be the event's pioneers.

Why it matters

Santa Fe 2026 is the first edition of the Games to award medals in padel, giving the results extra weight for national federations building toward next year's continental calendar. Paraguay's win over an Argentine team favored on home courts is an early signal that the region's talent pool now runs deeper than the usual Argentine-dominated podiums.