And what if, during this second match of the men's final of the World Championships, Tapia/Chingotto had had to be unbroken by Lebron/Galan at 4/2 in the third set? This is in any case the position of the former French number 1 and President of 100% Padel, Jérémy Scatena, who believes that the Spanish pair should have come back to 3 games to 4 in this final decisive set and that “Spain could therefore have won this World Cup 2 games to 0.

NB : Let us clarify, if it proves necessary, that we are not talking about a refereeing error during the competition. The objective is to show that the new technologies will be able to offer additional tools to referees to distinguish what the human eye cannot perceive in real time.

A look back at this final that caused so much talk : Spain leads 1/0 against Argentina in these 2024 World Championships. Argentina no longer has a choice: it must win match 2 between Chingotto/Tapia à Lebron / GalanThe tension is palpable, there is no point in going back over the behind the scenes of this opposition.

The Argentine pair narrowly wins the first set, 7/6. But the Spaniards come back strong, equalizing with a 6/3. In the third set, Tapia/Chingotto leads 4/2 with a break. Tapia is serving, and is trailing 30/40, giving Lebron / Galan a break point to get back into this decisive round.

And it is there, according to Jérémy Scatena, that a crucial refereeing error may have been decisive in this match: "This moment went completely unnoticed, but during Tapia's backhand counter-smash, in response to a smash by Galan, Tapia's right foot while jumping brushes the net. Moreover, if we watch the net view in a loop, we notice a slight movement of the net."

He continues: "It's obviously difficult to see with the naked eye, even on video. But today, with 100% Padel, we are working with engineers to validate a concept using artificial intelligence, which could help referees detect in real time if the net has been touched by a player.

"As a player, I can assure you that the action happens so quickly that sometimes you can't even tell if the net has been hit, and neither can the referee. It's a matter of millimetres, and the impact on the net is often barely noticeable, as was the case here with Tapia."

It is clear that this is not a referee's error in the strict sense, since visually and humanly it is almost impossible to decide. "But thanks to the technology we are working on with 100% Padel, this kind of error could eventually disappear.”

In tennis, sensors detect “lets” in service. “In padel, a more efficient sensor system would be necessary, given the proximity of the players to the net and the increased complexity of this situation.”

An interesting point of view, although a minority one at the moment. Indeed, even if the net seems to move slightly, it could also be due to the displacement of air or Tapia's jump during his backhand smash. In any case, if the product on which 100% Padel – now known for its track construction – is not yet finalized, the idea is certainly worth following closely.

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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