Analysis of the pairs' ballet, by Edu Megías

Edu Megías is a Spanish journalist, passionate about padel. For 2 years he has been responsible for the statistics of the WPT. A crack who tells us about the good and the bad in the ballet of pairs.

It would be best if you read this article written in Spanish by Edu Megias on Padel Good, who asks the question: “Is the ballet of pairs a good deal for padel?”

For those who do not have the time, the desire or who do not understand Spanish, we will make a quick summary.

Padel, today, is divided into several parts. It is a young sport, in full growth, where everyone is looking for their place. We cannot talk about a team sport like football where we win and lose together, we cannot talk about an individual sport like tennis. It is a pair sport in which we cannot say "we won thanks to me" or "it is your fault if we lost".

The parties involved are therefore the players, who try to win the first places in the WPT ranking, and to stay there, hence certain changes of pairs in the middle of the season (each one looks at his calculator). Another part are the coaches who wish to train the best players in the world to be publicized, and thus be able to sell themselves better to clubs, amateur players and clinics; their salaries as coaches of pro players don't give them enough to live on (and you don't want to wave because pairs can blow you up from day to day). The last part are the brands, which act either out of affection towards a player or for marketing purposes with the idea of selling their products better afterwards.

The solutions offered by Edu Megías:

First find solutions to allow the pairs to remain united, a kind of glue. This glue would unite the pair in the preparation, in the search for objectives, would help in a better mental preparation to face the victories, defeats and especially the hard moments.
The coach must also be a manager. He must dissect the components of the players, find those that combine perfectly to mount a project with technical preparers, media projects and projects with brands that would reflect what the pair is, and where the fans would see each other. reflected. Here we would talk about a pair, a team and no longer a “player”.

Edu Megías takes 2 examples. That of Jorge Martínez, trainer of Javier Ruiz and Uri Botello for 4 years. This pair went through highs today but above all through a lot of lows with Botello who wanted to retire from the circuit. An in-depth work and support, an example.

The other person who is, and certainly will be a good manager according to Edu, is Fernando Belasteguín. This player is always at the top because he does not choose his partners at random. 12 years with Juan Martín Díaz, 4 years with Lima and now with Tapia for certainly several years. He does not hesitate to take a step back in the ranking to then take 2 steps forward, with follow-up, sponsors who accompany not a player but a pair. We no longer create an individual but a group that has values. Brands other than padel find themselves there and the fans adhere.

Change the structure of the competition to prevent players from thinking about tournament points or their partner's points. This attitude of most players encourages a short-term padel, with pairs that jump quickly. And this year has surprised with attitudes that we had never seen before (to this extent). Changes of pairs at the top; Marta Marrero separates from Marta Ortega and Juan Lebron separates from Paquito Navarro.

So this is what this journalist Edu Megías thinks, who asks questions about the future of professional padel and proposes solutions. Do you agree with his proposals? Do you have any ideas for the development of padel? Your impressions and comments are always welcome.

The floor is yours.

Julien Bondia

Julien Bondia is a padel teacher in Tenerife (Spain). Columnist and advisor, he helps you play better through his tutorials and articles on padel tactics/techniques.