Austin USPA 2000: Who to Watch & Henri's Predictions

🏆 Tournament is over. See the recap → — final results, the Cortiles/Perez upset, and how Henri's bracket held up across all 9 divisions.

This weekend's USPA 2000 — the SNH Capital Open — lands at Padel39 East Austin Friday through Sunday. Nine divisions, the deepest Texas field of the year, and a couple of storylines you'll want to keep an eye on. The USPA's own preview flagged most of them last week — here's how I see the brackets shaking out.

I'm Henri, Padel Browser's community manager. I've been closely tracking the USPA tour this year, and Austin's the kind of stop where the bracket basically writes its own headlines. Vamos.

The Vegas rematch is finally happening

Two weeks ago, Daniel Diaz and José David Sánchez Serrano walked into the Las Vegas USPA 2000 final and dispatched Vinny Di Francesco and Ivo Andenmatten in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.

Both teams are back, on opposite halves of the Men's D1 draw — #1 seeds and #2 seeds, respectively. If both halves hold (and they usually do at this level), Sunday's final is a Vegas rematch with the whole crowd watching. Diaz/Sánchez Serrano have been the most dominant Men's D1 pairing on the US circuit in 2026, and they've now flipped from "challengers" to "favorites" in about three months.

The Cortiles wall in Women's D1

Anna Cortiles hasn't lost on the US circuit in months. Paired with Luicelena Perez — three USPA 2000 titles together and five USPA 1000 wins — they're the standard by which the rest of the Women's D1 draw is measured.

Another subplot worth watching, 12 year old Ornella Beltramino who is the reigning world No. 1 in the FIP Promises Under-14 rankings (she won five Under-14 tournaments across Spain and Portugal last summer while still 12). She trains in Miami under her father, a former professional, and spends part of the year in Spain working with the coach who built Paula Josemaría's game. Paired with Jordana Lujan as the #3 seeds, my bracket has her winning her quarterfinal and walking onto a USPA 2000 semifinal court against Cortiles/Perez. A 12-year-old in the semis of a 2000-point event is the headline behind the headline this weekend.

The home-court angle

Here's a fact that didn't make most previews: Rodrigo Banzer, in the Men's D1 draw, is the Director of Padel at Padel39 — the host venue. He's seeded the bottom half and has the home-court tactical knowledge nobody else has. If you're going in person, find his match.

The other Men's D1 floater to circle: Guillermo Jimenez Cagigas. In Austin he's the #3 seed paired with Luis Estrada, and if seeds hold they'll meet Diaz/Sánchez Serrano in the top-half semifinal. Why Cagigas matters: with Felipe Rocafort as his partner earlier this year, he handed Diaz/Sánchez their only US loss of the season — a 6-3, 6-4 QF upset at GFL in March, the only time the top seeds have been beaten on this side of the Atlantic in 2026. Different partner this weekend, and Estrada is 0-2 lifetime vs Diaz/Sánchez (Vegas USPA 2000 SF and Urban Padel F losses), so the path to a repeat is narrower. But Cagigas is the one player in this draw with a recent W over the #1 seeds, and that's still worth circling.

Upsets to watch

The lower divisions are where the bracket gets interesting. Three storylines I'm circling:

• Men's D2 — Gerardo Penchyna Cárdenas and Pablo Sánchez out of the bottom of the draw. They've already got the #2 Kalil father-son duo (Rudi, who owns Padel Clube Chicago, and his teenage son Alejo, a Pan American Games and FIP Promises player) in round two on paper, and I have them upsetting #3 Palmer/Abony in the semis to take a Cinderella run all the way to the final.
• Men's D4 — Daniel Novales and Richard Stubbert as my unseeded pick over the #1 Ronquillo/Pena. Whole bracket is competitive but they've got the cleanest path.
• Men's D5 — #1 seeds Ortiz/Ghosh out in the quarters. The newest pros' division is always the most volatile, and the bracket sets up for Matthew Denend and Emanuel Sanchez to send the top seeds home early.

Henri's picks — division by division

Men's D1 — Diaz / Sánchez Serrano

The favorites you'd expect, with the Vegas final still warm. The interesting matches are in the floater path — Cagigas/Estrada's potential semifinal is the one to watch.

Women's D1 — Cortiles / Perez

The most lopsided favorites in any division. Brittany Dubins is on the bottom half and has the experience (FIP Bronze Austin title with Fernandes, FIP Silver San Diego with Cortiles herself) to push a final to three sets — but the title goes back to the #1 seeds.

Men's D2 — Finkelstein / Ayguavives (with Gerardo's run as the storyline)

The headline here isn't the title pick — it's the bottom of the draw. Gerardo Penchyna Cárdenas and Pablo Sánchez have a path that goes through the #2 Kalil father-son in R2 and (in my bracket) the #3 Palmer/Abony in the semis. That gets them to the final against Jared Finkelstein and David Ayguavives. Finkelstein/Ayguavives have been the most consistent D2 pair on the US circuit all year — they take the title — but Gerardo's weekend is the one people will be talking about.

Women's D2 — Magrini / Teer

Ana Magrini and Lisa Teer are the top seeds and the chalk pick — but the #2 in the other half (Andi Neugarten-Maio and Amela Hadziosmanovic) has the depth to make this a competitive final. I have Magrini/Teer holding serve, but it's the most legitimate #1-vs-#2 final on the women's side.

Men's D3 — Mendez / Ojeda

A Mexican-Argentine pairing with strong recent USPA form. Leonardo Mendez and Jose Luis Ojeda aren't the obvious favorites going in, but if you watch how the bracket sets up, they have the cleanest path.

Women's D3 — Petrosini / Cardenas

Smaller draw, only 8 teams. Cristina Petrosini and Veronica Cardenas are my pick — the partnership has logged enough together that the bracket should reward them.

Men's D4 — Novales / Stubbert (unseeded)

Going against the seeds here. Daniel Novales and Richard Stubbert haven't been the obvious pick on paper, but they've got the best path through the bracket and they've looked the sharpest in the last month of US events. They upset the #4 in the quarters and grind out the final against #1 Ronquillo/Pena. Best upset value of any title pick in this tournament.

Women's D4 — Garcia / Toscano (with Nuss/Murphy as the upset path)

Diana Garcia is the active D4 trophy holder — she just won the USPA 1000 RGV D4 title in early April, and Garcia/Toscano have the rating edge in the final. Becky Nuss and April Murphy are 4-0 as a pair and the natural upset call on the other side of the bracket, but Nuss is 6-10 in her last 16 outside that partnership, so the SF runs through Garcia. Wide-open draw, real upset paths everywhere — this is the bracket where I'm least confident in my pick.

Men's D5 — Ortiz / Ghosh

The newest pros' division, where the brackets are essentially nine hours of "who's been playing the most over the last six months." Matias Ortiz and Rudy Ghosh come in fresh.

Want to practice before the tournament?

If you're in town early or based in Austin and want to hit before walking into Padel39 on Friday — here's the Austin scene:

How to watch

• Live scores and order of play: Tournated's official bracket
• Livestream: USPA's YouTube channel
• USPA preview: What to Watch at the SNH Capital Open

If reading this made you think I should be playing tournaments like this — USPA membership is the way in. Most of the players in this draw started exactly that way: signed up, showed up, got beaten in the first round, came back the next month sharper.

Vamos.