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 for you? This is a first for padel here.

Gustavo Santoscoy : "Yes, it's the first time we've swapped the tennis racket for the padel pala! It's a great experience. It's very dynamic and fast. We feel among the spectators that the atmosphere is different. The players are passionate about 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's very positive and we are very happy. The APT too. The final between the seeds 1 and 2 is perfect for the organizers. We are looking for a way to be back in 2023. There will be a padel event here in Guadalajara."

Padel is vital for tennis infrastructure

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: Many tennis infrastructures have the problem of not having other events than the tennis tournament during the year. How important is 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 is not just tennis, and although we have an important and consolidated tennis event, we want to show other growing sports such as padel."

A boom in Guadalajara

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

Gustavo Santoscoy“Padel in Guadalajara is doing very well. There are 20 padel-only clubs in the city. I don’t think there is any other sport that has so many clubs for one sport only. Obviously there are football fields, but they are not clubs."

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

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

"People should not forget about sport at the end of the event, we want to teach them what happens in world padel so that they realize the importance of the event when the best players in the world land in your city. This is the right path, 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 him at various international competitions, but also at major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best padel photos!