Spain recover from a set down to join Argentina in World Cup final

By Courtsider

A lost opening set made Spain work for their place alongside Argentina in the FIP World Cup 2026 final. Mike Yanguas and Aimar Goñi recovered against Portugal’s Deus brothers on 6 November in Doha, before Juan Lebrón and Paquito Navarro completed a 2-0 national-team victory. Argentina beat Italy by the same tie score, setting up a title match between the two countries on 7 November.

Spain’s opening rubber turned on a moment that carried weight beyond the scoreboard. With Portugal serving at 5-4, a disputed point initially went to Spain after Goñi’s retrieval at the net. The Portuguese protested a touch. From the Spanish bench, Navarro and Lebrón intervened in Portugal’s favour, and the Deus brothers were awarded the set.

That intervention left Yanguas and Goñi needing a response on court. They supplied it, beating the Deus brothers 4-6 6-3 6-2. Portugal had taken the first set, but Spain took the first rubber: a distinction that proved decisive to the direction of the semi-final. Lebrón and Navarro then defeated Araujo and Graça 6-2 6-4 to secure the second point. Spain’s third rubber was not played.

Argentina’s progress required no such recovery. Martín Di Nenno and Leo Augsburger defeated Italy’s Abbate and Montiel Caruso 6-1 6-1. Tapia and Chingotto followed with a 6-3 6-2 win against Patiniotis and Brambilla. Those two victories settled the tie without a third rubber, leaving Italy to contest bronze against Portugal.

The contrasting routes produced the same reward. Spain had recovered from an early setback; Argentina had won both completed rubbers in straight sets. Neither semi-final reached a deciding national-team match. The men’s final is upcoming on 7 November at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, with an 18:00 Doha start scheduled. Friday’s results secured the finalists, rather than deciding the champion.

Further down the men’s draw, Sweden and Brazil earned a meeting for fifth place with 2-0 wins against Germany and the Netherlands respectively. Neither winning nation dropped a set in those ties. Germany and the Netherlands will instead play for seventh.

France needed the third rubber to overcome Mexico. Blanque and Guichard delivered the deciding victory, sending France into an upcoming ninth-place match against Paraguay, who beat Chile 2-0. Mexico and Chile will contest 11th. The United States recovered after losing the opening rubber against Australia and advanced to face Qatar for 13th; Qatar had beaten the United Arab Emirates. Those results left Australia and the UAE in the match for 15th.

The women’s title match will also bring together Spain and Argentina. Spain defeated France 2-0, while Argentina beat Italy 2-0. Paula Josemaría and Gemma Triay won Spain’s opening rubber 6-3 6-1; Claudia Fernández and Bea González then won theirs 6-0 6-0. For Argentina, Aranzazu Osoro and Martina Fassio won 6-2 6-2 before Delfi Brea and Claudia Jensen closed the tie 6-2 6-3. France and Italy will meet for bronze. Both women’s medal ties are upcoming on 7 November.

Archive photo: Juan Lebrón at the 2024 Paris Major. Photo by Hombrey / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0.