From Garrido to Galán: the journey of a Chingotto in search of maturity

How did this pair form? What circumstances brought them together? Federico Chingotto, guest on the channel ENERGY Padel, looks back on his past associations before receiving Alejandro Galán's call to start a new project together, already crowned with six titles.

Previous associations

Javi Garrido: a brief passage

The Argentinian first collaborates with Javi Garrido In 2023, a Spanish player with great potential, capable of quickly closing points. Despite rather encouraging results, their adventure only lasted a few weeks: at the end of March 2023, they announced their separation.

“It was a learning curve. We still reached two semi-finals, and we were close to reaching a final. We played well together, but even then, perhaps with more time, the pairing could have worked. But at that point, Paco called me, and I felt I still needed to gain experience, especially in managing key moments.”

Paquito Navarro: first Master won

Chingotto then accepts the proposal of Paquito Navarro in order to continue to progress, particularly in the management of decisive moments:

“I think Paco taught me a lot about that. He's super competitive and he showed me how to deal with pressure.”

The duo Navarro / Chingotto then form a very competitive pair in 2023. They reach three finals on the circuit Premier Padel et two on the World Padel Tour, without winning a title. Ranked 4th in the world, the two players announced the end of their collaboration in December, with one final objective: the Barcelona Master.

“In that famous Masters we won together, I finally managed to bring out the best version of myself. The one I had in training, but that I couldn't show in a match. And a lot of the credit goes to Paco. He really pushed me to let go, to dare more. And that tournament changed everything.”

And in fact, Chingotto and Navarro win the WPT Master of Barcelona 2023 dominating Lebron / Galan (6/1 6/4). This is the first major title for Chingotto, a turning point in his career.

Momo González: A Short Adventure

2024 start, Chingotto starts the season alongside Momo González.

“It was short, but we had a good preseason together. He's an incredible person. Now, he's a friend off the pitch. […] I think it also helped a lot with my 2.0 version. At the beginning, Momo wasn't that aggressive or "point-winning," so I also had to get out of my zone and try to win some myself. It pushed me to understand that I shouldn't just build the point for the other guy to finish, but that I could also participate in the attack.”

However, they only play two tournaments together before the call of Gallant :

“I was really excited to play with him. […] But I was a little frustrated that we didn't manage to show our true level in tournaments. […] Maybe with more time, we would have reached that level.”

The two players, however, find themselves at theHexagon Cup 2025, pre-season tournament in Madrid, where they represent the team Kru PadelLed by Sergio "Kun" AgüeroThey beat there Stupaczuk / Ruiz in the final (6/4 6/4) to give their team the title.

“But then we played together again at other events, and I think we still showed a great version of ourselves. And there you go, you never know what life has in store, but it's a little thorn in the heart.”

Galán's call: a trigger

After these formative experiences with very high-level players, Chingotto is ready to take a new step.

“I'm very grateful to everyone I've played with, because everyone has given me something, both on a sporting and personal level. I'm lucky to get along well with everyone. There have been ups and downs, but I've learned a lot from everyone.”

Then comes Alejandro Galán's message :

“I started the season really into Momo […] Then Ale wrote to me, I think it was for dinner […] And then he was talking seriously: “I want to start a project with you.” I was speechless. The first thing I said was: “Yes, of course!”

Gallant, then associated with Juan Lebrón for more than 3 years, puts an end to one of the most dominant associations of modern padel. An opportunity that Chingotto cannot refuse, even if it means prematurely breaking off his collaboration with Momo González after two tournaments:

“I wanted to warn Momo first before he found out about it on social media, but it all happened really quickly. And once again, Momo was exemplary. He understood everything, no complaints, nothing. We've maintained a great relationship.”

A promising start

From their first appearance, Chingotto / Galan reach the Puerto Cabello P2 finalFacing Tapia / Coello, their future great rivals. In 2024, they will compete 14 endings and settle down at the 2th place in the world. Highly anticipated on the circuit, Chingotto et Gallant must now deal with constant pressure linked to their ambitions and public expectations:

“When you're already an athlete, you learn to better handle the pressure when it comes to competition, because there's always pressure. Few things in life put as much pressure on you: having only one chance to achieve what you really want or going home empty-handed.”

Objective 2025: world number one

But the objective for 2025: win titles et get closer to the world's first place :

“This fight for number one, what it does is push us to put out our best version.”

The pair Chingotto / Galan begins the season with an elimination in the quarter-finals of the Riyadh P1 face Augsburger / Cardona, before remobilizing for the following tournaments.

“As we saw last year, I think it was a great version of ourselves, at a high level, that we can still improve. And that's the beauty of it, is that we haven't reached our ceiling yet.”

The world's number 2 pair has had an excellent start to the season, with two titles in Miami P1 then the Santiago P1, and hopes to continue his momentum by winning the Qatar Major, which would allow them to get closer to Tapia and Coello for the world's first place.

Nicolas Fillaudeau

A big sports enthusiast and former tennis player, I discovered padel a few years ago without really focusing on it. Then I became addicted to this sport by practicing it and watching the premier padel matches. Looking forward to sharing the 2025 news with you!