Agustín Tapia is often presented as one of the most naturally gifted players of his generation. In Bandeja, the official podcast of Premier PadelThe "Mozart of Catamarca" acknowledges this ease, but above all explains how he seeks to evolve his game without losing what constitutes his identity: instinct.

How do you develop an extremely talented player without making him lose what makes him different?

This is one of the problems that Agustín Tapia has faced since the beginning of his career.

Guest on the second episode of Bandeja de Premier PadelThe Argentinian opened up about the evolution of his game and this constant balance between  Natural talent, hard work, tactics, and instinct .

"God gave me talent."

Tapia is not trying to deny the obvious.

He possesses a facility with the ball that few players can claim.

"I think that, in a way, God gave me the talent and this aptitude for this sport."

But number 1 immediately wants to complete this sentence.

"Obviously, we supported him with a tremendous amount of work."

Because the Tapia of today is no longer the same as the one from his early days.

When he was younger, the Argentinian admits to having relied much more on his natural qualities.

"When I started out, I relied much more on talent alone."

Over the years and with the professionalization of its environment, its approach has profoundly evolved.

Understanding the game more

Tapia believes he has made significant progress in his tactical understanding.

Technique, training, game reading: all these areas are now being worked on with his team.

"Today, I made a lot of progress in understanding the game, in tactics, in technique, in training."

He also emphasizes the importance of the staff surrounding him.

For him, top-level padel is no longer just about two players and a coach. The sport's growth is gradually allowing the best players to surround themselves with specialists capable of working on every detail.

Physical preparation, recovery, analysis and support: nothing should be left to chance.

Agustín Tapia: "God gave me talent, but I don't want to become another player."

But Tapia refuses to sacrifice his instinct

However, the entire difficulty lies here.

By constantly striving to become more tactically and technically complete, a player like Tapia could end up stifling what makes him unique.

And the Argentinian is perfectly aware of this.

"What I also think is that you shouldn't abandon what's natural and become a different player than you want to be."

A sentence that probably sums up a large part of his philosophy.

Tapia wants to progress without becoming a cookie-cutter player.

He wants to understand more about what he's doing without losing the ability to produce certain shots  without even needing to think about it .

"I always want to keep doing what I do without thinking."

The goal is therefore to combine the two worlds: the spontaneity of the Mozart of Catamarca and the tactical rigor required of the world number 1.

Finding "balance"

Tapia himself uses this term.

His current objective is to find a balance that allows him to use all of his resources.

"Today, I'm trying to find that balance and be able to use all my resources."

This is a particularly interesting development for a player whose highlights regularly circulate on social media.

Because behind the impossible moves and this impression of ease, there is now a much more structured way of thinking.

The famous Kuwait point? "100% chance"

Tapia gives an amusing example when he looks back on one of his most famous points, made in Kuwait.

Some fans are still asking him if he deliberately anticipated the trajectory or looked in the window to carry out his shot.

Tapia's response somewhat shatters the myth.

"It was 100% chance."

He explains that he simply tried not to give up the point and to return the ball as best he could.

"It was a huge amount of luck, but also the fact that I tried, that I didn't consider the ball lost."

The shot was fired. The images went viral. And the theories began.

Tapia, for his part, prefers to laugh about it.

Evolve Tapia without making Tapia disappear

This may ultimately be one of the major challenges of his career.

The Catamarca player is now much more complete than when he first arrived at the top level. He has a better understanding of tactics, works on every detail, and has a professional support system around him.

But he refuses to sacrifice what built his reputation.

 Working like a number 1 without losing the instinct of the player who sometimes hits the ball before even having time to think. 

This is the balance that Agustín Tapia was looking for.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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