Padel is much more than a sport. It's a  link, a living memory, a heritage passed down from generation to generation Fernando Belasteguín always said it: this sport built him. It gave him a name, a career, a life. And sometimes, it offers much more:  suspended moments  that remind you of where you come from.

En  January 2018 , while he is still world number one,  Bela finds herself on the other side of the lens . Not racket in hand, but phone in hand, eyes moist. He films a scene that will undoubtedly remain etched in his memory for much longer than some of his countless titles.

 "There is something stronger than the power of a son... it's the power of a grandson. My father hadn't played padel with me for 25 years... and it was my son who managed to get him to play again. I filmed them, moved." 

It's not about a match, nor a trophy. It's simply about  three generations united on a track . An intimate moment, almost trivial, but overwhelming. That day,  Federico , aged only  9 years  (born November 24, 2008), hits the ball with his grandfather. And the bond is created instantly.

It was  a quarter of a century  that Bela's father and he had no longer played together. And it was neither an invitation nor a challenge, but the simple presence of the grandson who  reunites a father and son on a padel court .  A simple, yet powerful scene , which says everything about the strength of this sport. This discipline where you play in pairs, always together, where you share much more than balls:  looks, silences, and memories. 

Today,  Federico Belasteguín is 16 years old . He has already taken his first steps on the professional circuit. In  2025 , he participates in the  FIP Promotion of Vic , in Catalonia. A modest tournament, a discreet entry, a defeat in the first round of qualifying. But what does it matter? The essential is elsewhere. In the gesture repeated over the years. In the family passion that he now carries. In this  name that he inherits, and that he bears with humility. 

 The road will be long. The comparisons inevitable.  But Federico doesn't need to become “the new Bela.” He just needs to be  Federico , this little boy who had succeeded, one day in January 2018, in  bring together his father and grandfather around the same love: padel. 

And for us, lovers of this sport, this sequence reminds us why we love it so much. Because it  brings people together. Because it unites. Because it makes families' hearts beat. 

Good luck, Federico. You've already won much more than your first match:  the right to write your own story. 

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.

On the same subject

Tags