The Hexagon Cup of padel closed its second edition this week in Madrid with the victory of the Krü Padel Team, a team owned by the Argentine ex-footballer Sergio Kun Agüero. The competition has revolutionized padel with its innovative format and has already attracted the best players in the world and the Madrid public to a high-level event. Is this a model for the future of the sport? Can this model be transferred to other disciplines?
Its founder, Spaniard Enrique Buenaventura, points out that one of the ideas behind this format is to give celebrities the opportunity to become part of the world of sports competition. Easier than buying, for example, a soccer team (so fashionable now), is to acquire a world-class paddle tennis team that offers an elite environment for a sport that is growing all over the world.
Sergio Kun Agüero, who with his Krü Padel Team won in the final against none other than the Rafa Nadal Academy, led by Maribel Nadal (Rafa’s sister). These two are not the only illustrious people who own one of the eight teams that took part in the Alpine Hexagon Cup 2025 this past week.
TEAM OWNERS
There are ‘owners’ from outside the sport such as Eva Longoria and Dani Homedes with their ElevenEleven; also Carlos Lopez Lay and Maria Esteve with their Team Bella from Puerto Rico. In soccer, Robert Lewandowski owns the RL9 Team, and the aforementioned Kun Agüero (and Gabriel Pérez) joined this year with KRÜ Padel by Taktika. From the world of tennis and other sports are Andy Murray, along with Anthony Joshua and Arran Yentob, leading the AD/Vantage Team (they finished third). Runner-up Rafa Nadal Academy repeats its participation with the Rafa Nadal Academy Team Powered by Richard Mille. From the world of motorsports is Pierre Gasly, in partnership with Loïc Fery (owner of FC Lorient in France), creators of the 10 Padel team. Finally, there is the Hexagon Team, where the decisions and selection of players have been made by the fans themselves through social networks.
ORIGINAL HIGH-LEVEL FORMAT
The tournament follows a format of three categories per team: men’s, women’s and the so-called Next Gen, where opportunities are given to future stars of the sport. Each victory adds two points in the men’s and women’s categories, and one in the Next Gen, playing a group from Wednesday to Saturday and disputing the third and fourth place on Sunday, in addition to the grand final. This pioneering idea in paddle tennis has attracted players and fans.
AN EVENT THAT IS GAINING RELEVANCE
With only two editions, the Hexagon Cup has already become a benchmark in the professional paddle circuit. The presence of international investors and ambassadors contributes to its expansion and global interest in the tournament. Sergio Agüero, just after the tournament, announced that they were in the process of giving entry into the team to powerful investors from the United States to continue with this firm commitment to padel and, specifically, for this Hexagon Cup that has just been born to revolutionize who knows if only the world of padel.