MANILA, Philippines – They entered the Asian Games at the bottom of the seedings. They left as one of the final four pairs in Asia.

For Danna Abad and Joshea Malazarte, the 2026 Asian Games became a breakthrough moment for padel in the Philippines, as the youngest pair in Team Padel Pilipinas battled their way from the No. 23 seed to the semifinals of the women’s competition.

Making their Asian Games debut in Nagoya, Abad and Malazarte had the odds stacked against them from the start. They were the lowest-seeded pair in a 23-pair field out of 13 countries in the women’s division, but seedings quickly became secondary once the competition began.

Match by match, the young Filipinos climbed through the draw.

They opened their campaign with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory over Samaher Alkurdi and Lina

Alabdullatif of Saudi Arabia, before taking down Hong Kong’s Venise Chan and Hiu Wai Lau, 6-1, 6(6)-7(8), 6-3 in a hard-fought three-set battle in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals, they faced Iran’s Saba Najafi Dehaghi and Neda Mohammad Taghipour and again rose to the occasion, securing another three-set victory to punch their ticket to the semifinals, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

With that win, Abad and Malazarte had done what few expected from the pair entering the tournament: they had broken into the final four.

Waiting for them were three seeded teams – Japan’s No. 2 seed and Indonesia’s No. 3 and No. 7 seeds –  putting the young Filipinos among the last four pairs standing in the women’s draw.

For Abad and Malazarte, it was more than a semifinal berth. It was a statement.

The pair’s rise was especially significant as they were the youngest players in the Philippine delegation. Against more established opposition and higher-ranked pairs, they showed composure, resilience, and the ability to fight through the toughest moments of a match.

Their semifinal appearance marked a breakthrough moment for the growth of padel in the Philippines, coming in the sport’s first Asian Games appearance.

Abad and Malazarte faced Indonesia’s Fadona Kusumawati and Fitriani Sabatini in the semifinals, before returning to the court for the bronze-medal match against Indonesia’s Novela Putria and Beatrice Gumulya. Although they fell short of the podium, the Filipino duo finished fourth in Asia — a result that marked the biggest breakthrough of Team Padel Pilipinas’ Asian Games debut.

From the No. 23 seed to the final four, Abad and Malazarte showed that rankings can only tell part of the story.

What mattered was what they did once they stepped onto the court.

And in Nagoya, the youngest pair in the Philippine delegation made sure they would be remembered.