Gustavo Santoscoy Garcia is the director of theAPT Padel Tour Final Master 2022, and leader of the Centro Panamericano de Tenis in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. We meet him in the stadium press room.

A positive assessment

Lorenzo Lecci López: Thank you for welcoming us to this magnificent stadium. How is the experience going for you? It is a first of padel here.

Gustavo Santoscoy : "Yes, it's the first time that we've swapped the tennis racket for the pala de padel ! It's a great experience. It's very dynamic and fast. We feel within the spectators that the atmosphere is different. The players are taken with passion for the players. »

Lorenzo Lecci López: We are on the day of the final. What conclusions can we draw from this week? Are you able to confirm the return of the APT Padel Tour in 2023?

Gustavo Santoscoy : « It is very positive and we are very happy. The APT too. The final between seeds 1 and 2 is perfect for the organizers. We are looking for a way to be back in 2023. There will be an event of padel here in Guadalajara. »

Le padel is vital for tennis infrastructure

Lorenzo Lecci López: Many tennis infrastructures have the problem of not having other events than the tennis tournament during the year. How important is the padel to overcome this.

Gustavo Santoscoy : “I think it's fundamental to keep the infrastructure in good condition. If you don't have an event, these infrastructures deteriorate. If you have any, it's just the opposite because the maintenance is constant."

"I think this aspect is fundamental, but it is also very good for the public. It is important that they have access to other sports. It's not just tennis, and although we have a strong and consolidated tennis event, we want to show other growing sports such as padel."

A boom in Guadalajara

Lorenzo Lecci López: What is the state of development of the padel in Guadalajara?

Gustavo Santoscoy : "The padel in Guadalajara is going very well. There are 20 clubs only from padel in the city. I don't think there is another sport that has so many clubs of one sport only. Obviously there are football pitches, but they are not clubs."

Lorenzo Lecci López: Although the padel explodes in Mexico, many people still do not know what this sport is. What will be the strategy to increase awareness of the padel ?

Gustavo Santoscoy : “We do a great job on social networks, and we have managed to capture a large community. We want to do the same with our tournament of padel. We want to present the players, and show that this tournament is not just a week.

"People shouldn't forget the sport at the end of the event, we want to teach them what happens in the padel world so that they realize the importance of the event when the best players in the world land in your city. This is the right way, because our stadium is already almost full in this first edition."

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see it on the various international competitions, but also on the major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best photos of padel !

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