Sofia Araujo and Lorena Rufo to band together for 2022

Sofia Araujo and Lorena Rufo have announced they will partner up for the upcoming 2022 World Padel Tour season.

Both top 25 players, Rufo is only just starting her professional career at 18 years old, while Araujo has been playing at the highest level for a long time.

Unlike Rufo, Araujo did manage to bring home silverware in 2021. Alongside her compatriot Ana Catarina Nogueira, the Portuguese won the Tau Cerámica Albacete Challenger 2021. This made Portugal only the third country to have a duo with both players from there to win a title (after Argentina and Spain).

Mi nueva compañera para este 2022‼️??

Con muchas ganas e ilusión de empezar este nuevo proyecto y darlo todo para conseguir nuestros objetivos??@noxpadel@c_barrau@GoldPointAcadem@WIM__Sports@pfisicapadel#padel #padelfemenino #deporte #deportefemenino #wpt #sport #noxpadel pic.twitter.com/QlIGyCSPEa

— Lorena Rufo (@lorerufoo03) January 8, 2022

Araujo and Rufo's 2021

Araujo started the 2021 campaign alongside former number one Eli Amatriaín, before switching to the aforementioned veteran Nogueira mid-season.

Besides her triumph in Albacete, Araujo made three quarter-finals in Opens and one semi-final appearance in another Challenger.

Rufo played her second season alongside Marta Talaván in 2021. Finishing joint-19th in the Race 2021, Rufo and Talaván enjoyed a successful campaign. Rufo got as far as the semi-finals on four occasions in the five Challengers, and like her new partner, she made three quarter-final showings in Opens too.

The Araujo-Rufo combination

With 27-year-old Araujo sitting 25th and 18-year-old Rufo in 21st in the women's rankings, this pairing carries promise aplenty.

A healthy mix of youth and experience, it is a combination that has proven to be successful time and again in World Padel Tour.

Can Rufo and Araujo take the next step in 2022 and qualify for the Estrella Damm Master Final?