Francesco Passaro completed a ten-match winning streak by coming from a set down in the Maia Challenger final. He beat third seed Zsombor Piros 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on indoor clay in Portugal on October 18, 2026, winning in consecutive weeks after Palermo.
His last three matches in Maia followed the same broad pattern: he also lost the opening set against Marco Trungelliti in the quarterfinal and Matej Dodig in the semifinal. In the final he recovered by taking the remaining sets 6-3 and 6-2.
Passaro converted five of six break points, while Piros took three of five. Their first-serve points won were 42 of 57 and 30 of 50 respectively.
All five of Passaro’s Challenger titles have come on clay: Trieste in 2022, Turin and Genoa in 2024, and Palermo and Maia in 2026. He had lost the 2024 Maia final to Damir Dzumhur; this time he left with the trophy.
