By Davut Güngör and Alex Nişan Killioğlu, Turkiye correspondents
Spain won the 19+. Sweden took the 50+. But the real takeaway from Málaga was simpler than that.
This format works.
Key Takeaways
- PCL Europe is introducing a team-based format across Spain and Sweden, offering European players a different competitive structure.
- The format blends professional competition with community engagement, creating pathways that don’t exist in traditional tournament models.
- Spain and Sweden represent two distinct European markets — showing that pickleball’s growth on the continent is not one-size-fits-all.
Not in theory. Not on paper. In practice, across a full week, under pressure, with teams that could not hide their weaknesses.
And that is why Istanbul matters more than Málaga did.
WHY THIS FELT DIFFERENT
European pickleball has had good events before. Strong fields, decent organisation, a few standout names. But it has mostly been built around individuals.
Málaga felt different from the start. National teams, clear structures, players wearing the same shirt for something bigger than themselves.
More importantly, it held up.
Over multiple days, across two age groups, the format kept asking the same question: how deep are you, really?
Some nations had an answer. Some did not.
SPAIN HAD CONTROL. SWEDEN HAD DEPTH.
The 19+ event followed a familiar route. Group stages into knockouts. Spain handled it better than anyone.
They edged Italy 3–2 in a semi-final that could easily have gone the other way. Then they removed any doubt in the final. A 4–0 win over the Netherlands, controlled from the first match to the last.
No drama. No reliance on one player digging them out.
Just a team that had more strength across the board.
Sabrina Mendez did not lose across eight matches. Mauro García and María Fernández Costantino both went 8–1. Italy had Silvia Mocciola at 6–0. The Netherlands had real threats in Paul van Loon, Sharienne Ricardo and Pieter de Vries.
If you\u2019re following how the global game is shifting week by week, the World Pickleball Report breaks this down every Wednesday.
Spain simply had more of them.
The 50+ competition exposed something slightly different.
No knockouts. No reset. Just a full round-robin where every result stayed with you.
Sweden handled that better than anyone else. Five wins from six ties. Consistent, composed, and with no obvious drop-off anywhere in the line-up.
Spain matched them on match record at 19–5, but lost on tiebreakers. Over a format like this, that tells you everything.
They were excellent. Sweden were just more complete.
Individually, the standout performance still came from Spain. Marcello Paiva Jardim went 12–0. Twelve matches, twelve wins. No dips.
Sweden’s response was collective. Pialena Ander at 11–1. Fredrik Sidfalk at 9–3. Pernilla Ohlin at 8–2.
No single dominant figure. Just a team that did not give points away cheaply.
That is what wins this format.
WHAT MALAGA ACTUALLY SHOWED
The biggest shift here is not who won. It is what gets exposed.
In individual tournaments, you can carry a result. One player gets hot. A draw opens up. A run happens.
Here, weak links were found quickly. Across a full team sheet, there was nowhere to hide.
That is uncomfortable for developing nations. It is also exactly what the sport needs.
Because it forces investment beyond the top one or two players. It forces structure. It forces depth.
You either have it, or you get exposed.
ISTANBUL IS WHERE IT GETS REAL
Málaga introduced the format. Istanbul tests it.
From May 13 to 18, the same questions come back, but with more pressure attached.
Spain arrive with something to defend. Sweden arrive with something to prove was not a one-off. Everyone else arrives knowing exactly where they fell short.
And now there is no excuse of unfamiliarity.
Teams know what this demands. Squad selection matters more. Preparation matters more. The margins will get tighter.
This is also where the season element starts to bite.
Points carry across stops. Early results are not isolated anymore. A bad week does not disappear. A strong one gives you leverage.
That changes how seriously this is taken.
A STRUCTURE EUROPE ACTUALLY NEEDED
For a long time, European pickleball has been growing without a clear way to measure itself.
Plenty of activity. Plenty of tournaments. Not always much connection between them.
This is different.
PCL Europe gives the continent a structure that rewards more than just standout individuals. It rewards systems. It rewards nations that build properly.
Málaga showed the outline.
Istanbul will show whether anyone else is ready to meet it.
Spain and Sweden have set the first standard. The rest of Europe now knows what it actually takes to match them.
This article appeared in the April 2026 issue of World Pickleball Magazine.
If you want the full breakdown, including deeper analysis, additional insights, and exclusive content, you can download the full April issue of World Pickleball Magazine here:
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Chris Beaumont
Founder and Editor-in-ChiefChris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at…
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