On March 19, 2023,  Chile Open World Padel Tour  offered one of the most surreal scenes in padel history. A refereeing error temporarily deprived  Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia  of a title they thought they had already won. Three years later, this final remains a turning point, not only for the circuit, but also for the birth of the  domination of the world's number 1. 

 A victory celebrated… before being cancelled 

The scene is still etched in everyone's memory.

After winning the first set 6-4 against Ale Galán and Juan Lebrón, Tapia and Coello led 5-3 in the second set and were serving for the match. At 30-30, Arturo Coello finished off a rally with a  chancletazo  Winner. Both players think they are leading 40-30 and have two match points.

However, one detail will change the course of the match.

The referee  Honorio Garcia  had judged the ball out and announced… 30-40. An announcement that only  Ale Galán  seems to have heard.

Tapia wins the next point with a smash that goes out three-pointers. The two men celebrate the title.  Lebrón  He even goes to congratulate them. But Galán immediately returns to the referee to remind him that, in his opinion, the score was different.

 A confusion that has become historic 

After several minutes of discussion, Honorio García confirmed his mistake: he had indeed called Coello's ball out.

The referee then proposed an exceptional solution: if the four players agreed to consider the match over, the title would go to Tapia and Coello.

But no consensus has been reached.

The final therefore resumes… at  40A , on a crucial point.

A decision that left Tapia and Coello completely stunned. Arturo Coello initially refused to resume play before the match finally restarted in a tense atmosphere.

Galán and Lebrón took advantage of this moment of uncertainty to break, reverse the momentum and snatch the second set in a tie-break.

It was two years ago: a look back at the most controversial final in the history of padel

 The speech that changed everything 

On the bench, the faces of Tapia and Coello betrayed all their frustration.

It was then that their coach,  Manu Martín He then delivered a now-famous speech. He urged his players to forget the injustice and explained that they had already won something more important: proof that they were the strongest that day.

A message that changes their mindset.

 The beginning of a domination 

The third set remains nail-biting.

Galán and Lebrón even had a match point, but Tapia and Coello held firm. They leveled the score, broke back, and finally closed out the match.  7/5  in the deciding round.

No sooner had the last point been scored than Agustín Tapia turned to his partner, pointed his head out several times, and whispered a phrase that would later take on its full meaning:

"This match will make us stronger."

The rest of the story would prove him right. A few months later, the two men reached the top of the world rankings and ushered in one of the most significant periods of domination in modern padel.

WPT Chile Open: how Tapia and Coello almost had their victory stolen

 A final that remains unique 

Beyond the refereeing controversy, this final remains almost unique in the history of professional padel. A victory celebrated, players leaving the court, a match restarted several minutes later… no other major event has seen a comparable scenario.

Three years later, the Chile Open 2023 remains less the memory of an umpiring error than that of the moment when the Tapia-Coello pair demonstrated that they already possessed the mental strength of future world number ones.

Maceo ZERHAT

Maceo Zerhat discovered padel in 2020 in Savigny-sur-Clairis, Burgundy. He contributed to the club's expansion by bringing his energy and curiosity. Padel Magazinehe transmits his Padel"mania" by skillfully bouncing on all the latest news about your favorite sport!

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