The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi partnered with the International Padel Federation to present Team Dalma during an event at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental. The franchise takes its name from Dalma Island, one of the UAE’s oldest inhabited locations situated 42 kilometres off the Abu Dhabi coast in the Persian Gulf. World number one pair Agustín Tapia of Argentina and Arturo Coello of Spain will headline the men’s side while Portugal’s Sofia Araujo and Italy’s Giulia Dal Pozzo form the women’s duo for the mixed team competition.
Organisers of the Hexagon World Series outlined a four-event calendar spanning three continents for the 2027 season. The circuit opens in Madrid from January 21 to 24 before moving to North America in March, Scandinavia in June and concluding in Abu Dhabi in October. Matches will follow a revolutionary format of best-of-five sets, each a 10-point super tiebreak with a possible decisive fifth set played to six points.
Seven teams have now been confirmed for the eight-franchise competition with one final squad still to be named, according to the series announcement. The lineup includes the AD/vantage Padel Team backed by Andy Murray and Anthony Joshua, KRÜ Padel by Taktika led by Sergio “Kun” Agüero, the Rafa Nadal Academy Team, ElevenEleven supported by Eva Longoria, Team Bella from Puerto Rico and X Padel featuring Pierre Gasly. Team Dalma replaces the previous RL9 Team and signals Abu Dhabi’s deeper integration into the professional padel landscape.
The International Padel Federation’s World Padel Report 2026 placed the number of active players worldwide above 40 million while recording more than 91,200 courts in operation across 191 countries. Court numbers grew by 20 percent in the past year and the sport generates an annual economic output of €13.07 billion while contributing €8.6 billion to global GDP, the federation reported. Registered federated players now exceed 1.1 million, a rise of 30.5 percent from the previous assessment.
Padel has expanded rapidly in the UAE with more than 950 courts spread across over 320 venues in all seven emirates, according to sector data compiled by ElPadel. The domestic market was valued at $205 million in 2025 and is projected to reach $437 million by 2034 as infrastructure growth continues at 40 to 50 percent annually. Abu Dhabi’s role as series host and team owner aligns with initiatives to build courts in schools and position padel as a core youth sport.
Enrique Buenaventura, co-founder of the Hexagon World Series, addressed Abu Dhabi’s ambitions at the unveiling. He noted that the emirate sought not only to stage an event but to develop the sport at grassroots level with an inclusive approach focused on younger generations. Buenaventura added that plans include constructing courts in educational facilities to broaden participation across the community.