Bendinat as a meeting place: Padel Cup brings together nearly 120 players

Bendinat as a meeting place: Padel Cup brings together nearly 120 players

Between fast balls and evening cocktails – the second edition of the El Económico Mallorca Real Estate Pádel Cup

Last weekend the padel courts of the Bendinat Urban Country Club, as in Padel in Bendinat: Atmosphere, Networking — and the Scent of Espresso, were once again filled with the typical clack of rackets and the murmur of groups of spectators. For three days everything revolved around short, intense rallies, conversations at the club entrance and the occasional honking of cars on the Ma-10, heard from afar through the pine trees. Around 120 people – amateur players, club veterans and the curious alike – took part to measure their skills in different levels.

The tournament was organized by the business newspaper El Económico of the MM publishing house together with the marketing and communications agency Borbalán. Sponsors such as Barnes Mallorca, Seippel & Seippel, Sestel Builders, El Corte Inglés, Jardins Tramuntana, Say Carbon Yachts, Ona Clinic Palma and Il Tano provided material prizes and the supporting program. Many participants arrived as early as Thursday, picked up their starter documents and were pleased with a small welcome package – a nice gesture that immediately sparked conversations at the bar.

There were competitions for men, women and mixed pairs. On Friday afternoon the finalists were decided, and the finals took place on Saturday. The following pairs prevailed in their respective categories: in the second men's category Tim Spilker and Pedro Oliver; in the third men's category David Valero and David Colom; in the fourth men's category José Andrés Fernández and Fabrizio Giunta; in the fifth men's category Daniel Florin and Víctor Azócar. In the women's fourth category Rachel Angel and Ileana Galleano won. The mixed competition was won by Maeya Der and Tim Weelzen.

After the matches, Pep Verger, head of El Económico, took the opportunity to welcome partners and supporters; the short speeches felt personal, not bureaucratic. Club director Gonzalo Bucolo praised the organization and the atmosphere and then handed out the prizes to the winners together with staff. Afterwards the club terrace filled up: additional prizes were raffled off in a tombola, and with cocktails the event wound down in a relaxed atmosphere.

What stood out that weekend: padel works here as a meeting place. Between matches you could see tradespeople in work clothes sitting next to lawyers in polo shirts, children collecting balls and couples arranging joint training sessions. Such scenes are typical for our island – sport is often the occasion to network, to bring local service providers into conversation and to meet neighbors again, as seen in When Klopp and Sabatini Play Padel: Santa Ponsa Listens.

For Mallorca, a tournament of this size has several positive effects. Local businesses benefit when participants think of hotels, restaurants and shops; clubs like Bendinat show that they are more than sports facilities, namely meeting places with atmosphere; and the padel boom promotes an infrastructure offering that broadens hobby and leisure options. Those who walked through Bendinat over the weekend heard not only the ball but also the quiet promise: something reliable is being created here for hobby players and for togetherness.

The evening at the club also showed how a small setting with sponsor funds and committed organization becomes a complete experience. A tombola, prize-giving and cocktails are not great inventions — but they connect people and turn matches into memories. A brief look at faces after the awards ceremony was enough: satisfaction, a bit of exhaustion and plans for the next edition.

As an observation for everyday life: such events ensure that the island remains not only a holiday destination but also a place of lived neighborhood. Those who take a Sunday walk along the coast remember the conversations from the club terrace; those who meet the winning pair in the supermarket automatically ask about the next training date. That is the quiet but tangible impact of a local sports event.

Outlook: Padel keeps growing — and with it the chance to get more people moving, to strengthen meeting places and to stimulate small local economic cycles, a trend also reflected in Youth Padel Tournament in Palma: 160 Spots, Three Days, No Entry Fee. Whether the next edition will be bigger or will visit other parts of the island depends on organizers, sponsors and above all the players. One result of this weekend is already clear: Bendinat has once again shown that it is a good place for networking, sporting fairness and an evening of good conversation.

Tags: Sports, Padel, Bendinat, El Economico, Mallorca