In the men's padel circuit, where partner changes have become common practice, only three pairs have achieved the feat of start and finish the 2024 season together : Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello, Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz and Ignacio Sager and Salva Oria.

A season marked by instability

The world of professional padel is today marked by a tendency to seek immediate results. Pairs form, separate and reform in the hope of quickly finding the perfect alchemy. This quest for instant performance often seems to take precedence over the developing a lasting relationship on the court, even if it means sacrificing stability.

Nieto and Sanz: the perfect example

Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz have shown that consistency can pay off. Without reaching the heights of Tapia and Coello, they have had a solid season, regularly qualifying for the final rounds of major tournaments. Their progression illustrates that a project built over time can allow a pair to reach significant levels.

A sport increasingly focused on immediacy?

In this context, a question arises: Is this constant instability in associations beneficial for sport? The regular performances of Tapia / Coello et Nieto / Sanz show that a long-term relationship can be a winning formula. However, the current approach of prioritizing quick results seems to have become the norm. Players change partners in an attempt to maximize their chances on the court, often to the detriment of cohesion and the time needed to build a real bond. In today's circuit, many players sometimes favor the call of a higher ranked partner, hoping to quickly reach a milestone, rather than betting on a lasting collaboration. This quest for immediate results can often prevent a pair from building a real relationship of trust and regularity.

Recent examples such as Antonio Fernandez and Jose Diestro, Alex Ruiz and Juan Tello, or Ramiro Moyano and Francisco Gil illustrate this problem well. These pairs, without reaching the summits, regularly obtained good results and enjoyed a certain stability. However, the pressure to aim higher or change strategy sometimes led to decisions that later placed them in difficulty.

Benjamin Dupouy

I discovered padel directly during a tournament, and frankly, I didn't really like it at first. But the second time, it was love at first sight, and since then, I haven't missed a single match. I'm even ready to stay up until 3am to watch a final of Premier Padel !

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