SANTA PONCA, October 11, 2025 (Press Release)

The Vanda Pharmaceuticals Mallorca Women’s Championships presented by ecotrans Group added a special highlight on Saturday as the Mallorca Country Club hosted a lively padel exhibition featuring renowned names from across the world of sport and entertainment.

Organized by Edwin Weindorfer, CEO of e|motion group and the tournament’s founder, the event brought together athletes and celebrities in a relaxed, light-hearted atmosphere that perfectly captured the spirit of the week.

Tournament ambassador Gabriela Sabatini teamed up with world-famous football coach Jürgen Klopp in the opening match of the day. Across the net were Toni Nadal, Sporting Director of the men’s tournament Mallorca Championships, held in June at the same club, and Denise Höfer, a German professional padel player.

Despite a delayed start due to rain, the mood quickly turned lively as the crowd enjoyed light-hearted matches full of energy and laughter. Sabatini and Klopp showed great chemistry on court, though they narrowly lost 19–21 to Nadal and Höfer.

Jürgen Klopp, who played his first-ever match alongside Sabatini, was delighted by the experience: “Gabriela is a wonderful woman – I met her just yesterday, and I never would have imagined being on court with her, Toni, and Denise. Three former tennis players and one former footballer – that’s what makes padel so great. It’s a sport everyone can play, and it’s growing fast in Germany. I play because I enjoy it, and because nothing hurts afterwards!”

Gabriela Sabatini returned the compliment with a smile: “He’s famous all over the world. I’m a big fan – I love football and everything he’s done. Having Jürgen next to me on court was a great honour. It was the first time we met, yesterday, and he struck me as such a kind and charismatic person. It was so much fun.”

Other well-known figures joined the day’s exhibition, including Jagoba Arrasate (coach of RCD Mallorca), former football players and coaches Bruno Labbadia and Adi Hütter, former German tennis player Charly Steeb, and German actors Uwe Ochsenknecht and Mark Keller.

The Mallorca Country Club, home of the WTA 125 event, recently inaugurated four new AFP padel courts in collaboration with Padel FC, a company founded by the Klopp family, further reinforcing its position as one of Mallorca’s leading sports and social destinations.