As in almost every tournament, refereeing is at the center of the debates. This time, it is during the round of 16 of the GNP Mexico Major Premier Padel, on a secondary court, that a contested situation relaunched the discussions.

The sequence in question involves an obvious, unreported error related to the feet of Barahona touching the net during a crucial point. The Spaniard Javi Garrido expressed his displeasure, believing that this error should not have gone unnoticed. On social networks, the slow-motion scene clearly reveals the incident, but the lack of review technology on the secondary courts left the referee without a solution.

A recurring problem for referees

This situation once again highlights the limits of referees in the face of an increasingly fast game. Between monitoring the ball and checking the players' movements, margins of error are inevitable. Some are calling for the introduction of an additional referee at the net, a practice abandoned in tennis since the arrival of automatic sensors.

However, for tournaments of this magnitude, many consider that the secondary courts should also be equipped with video review systems at a minimum, like the central court.

A request for 2025

For many observers, it is time to implement changes for the 2025 season. The frustration of players like Javi Garrido, who suffer errors in key moments (3-all in the third set), underlines the importance of extending review technology to all courts. "These types of situations have become too frequent this year, especially on the secondary courts," can be read in the reactions.

As padel continues to professionalize, this debate around refereeing and technology seems inevitable. With matches becoming more and more competitive, every detail counts, and such visible errors risk damaging the credibility of this growing sport.

The tournament's 8th seed would eventually lose in the 3rd set tie-break.

A tournament under tension: surprise guests and favourites on the verge of collapse at the Mexico Major
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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