The growing popularity of padel has brought to light some of the clashes that until recently were only known in the bubble of this sport. Couples who argue angrily during the breaks between games, breakups peppered with explosive statements in the weeks that follow… and in the midst of this troubled waters reigns the stability of the best duo in the world. The Spaniard Arturo Coello and the Argentine Agustín Tapia firmly rule the circuit, armed with a mix of talent on the court and trust and complicity as players and as friends. The couple arrives in Valladolid, Coello’s home, once again the favourite for the title they aspire to this Sunday after comfortably winning their previous rounds while their competitors adjust their teams and resources to unseat them, without much success this season.
Arturo Coello, 22, enters the press room at the Pisuerga sports centre in Valladolid minutes after the victory against Goenaga and Ayats in the first round of the championship. The duel lasted less than an hour and reflects the superiority of the best paddles in the world, with the left-hander particularly focused on raising the trophy in front of his fellow citizens after two consecutive finals ended in defeat: “It is a thorn in my side, we could not win although it was not because of the pressure, this year we come with a lot of desire to try to do our best without aspirations of anything more than going for each match.” The current champions in Madrid and Rotterdam (Netherlands) compete indoors, in a sports centre, after Valladolid lost the high category of tournament achieved years ago, when it was held in the city’s Plaza Mayor under the June sun. “When you ask about Valladolid the first thing you think of is the Plaza Mayor, it is where padel has grown. The stage we are playing on is also very beautiful and it is also interesting to see it at the time of year when we are in Valladolid because it can rain, so it is logical that they have put it in the pavilion. Hopefully next year we can go back,” says the world number 1 in the individual category, just a few points above his partner, from whom he has even picked up the Argentine accent.
The player from Mojados (3,300 inhabitants) bases his successes on the good relationship with Tapia. “It is quite easy and there is no trick, we are very, very good friends. Both on and off the court we respect each other and we understand each other’s needs very well,” explains the player from Valladolid, who highlights being “two very proactive people”, always with “a good or at least constructive comment towards the other, there are never quarrels or arguments on the court.” Other clashes do come to light, such as those between Juan Lebrón and Alejandro Galán, followed by crossed statements after the breakup. Coello downplays these disputes and attributes them to the efforts of the rivals to overthrow “the hegemony” of the Coello-Tapia duo, a source of changes and attempts to snatch control from them. In addition, the new circuit, under the Premier Padel label, involves cameras on the benches: “In the end you see much more of what happens within the couple on the court, which are the moments when the couple has the most tension and is most excited.” Shortly after this interview, the cameras caught the coach of Juan Lebrón and Martín Di Nenno trying to relax the former while the latter was in the bathroom. The coach asked the Spaniard to talk to him to clarify the tactics as a couple and he tensely refused to debate with his partner: “I don’t want to start a fight.” They finally won the match.
The farewell to the World Padel Tour and the debut of the Premier, under Qatari capital, leaves the Valladolid native with good feelings, aware of the “growth”. “There are many things that are not seen that are being done very well, obviously like any new circuit there are many things to improve, but that is the beauty, not having the ability to continue progressing and for the circuit to grow at the same time as the sport and the players”, he assures. The padel generations change and with them figures like Fernando Belasteguín, Bela in the trade, he is approaching retirement and his performance begins to decline at 45 years of age, with an early defeat in Valladolid: “I admire him a lot, not only for what he has done but for what he is doing, he continues working as when he was number one, I hope that this year he enjoys it to the full and takes it as an experience. Next year we will miss him.” Behind, huffing and puffing to beat Coello-Tapia, come Galán and Chingotto, “our top competitors”, aspiring to reach one of the possible finals with the most pedigree among the contenders in Pisuerga.
Coello has set himself the early goal of finishing the season as number 1 alongside Agustín Tapia, a teammate he will face in the next World Padel Championship. The event has much less hype or media impact than football, he says, but it gives rise to growing rivalries and high-level duels such as the great classic of padel: Argentina against Spain, which ended with a victory for the South Americans in the last edition. Meanwhile, high-level paddles are emerging in Portugal, the United States, Portugal or Sweden, future competitors for the young man from Valladolid, who is keeping an eye on the rearview mirror. This sport is still developing and has already surpassed tennis in federative licenses in Spain —101,326 padel for 91,034 tennis—, although in terms of social prestige and history there is still a long way to go to match the discipline of the racket. Coello accepts this difference without problem and considers that there are several generations left to evaluate whether padel reaches such a status. “If we only think about the tennis model, we will always grow below. “You have to try to create different things, take it to other places, I don’t know if like tennis, Formula 1, be like the NBA…”, reflects the player, who humbly accepts the weight of padel stardom, with more commitments, events and photos that he tries not to value too much so as not to break with the strictly competitive concentration. A few hours before this interview, the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, the person with the most followers on the social network Instagram (639 million), shared a video of himself playing with Arturo Coello.
