Pablo Cardona, the young Spaniard, 15th player in the world, who plays alongside Argentinian Leo Augsburger, was invited to the microphone of the YouTube channel See Ten Paddle to talk about the first tournament of the season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. paul cardona looks back on the tournament and the rest of the season.

Feeling of their performance

This is the pair that created the surprise at Riyadh by reaching the semi-finals after having eliminated Chingotto and Galán. Close to reaching the final for their first tournament together, Cardona confided to us, a few days after the defeat against Stupa / Lebron, a hint of bitterness.

“The loss hurt, especially having two match points. […] You know, when you get to that point where you can almost touch it with your hands, it hurts even more. But hey, with time passing, I'll probably end up being proud of the tournament.”

Problem at the airport

A very positive tournament for the 9th seeded pair, who almost didn't play the competition... due to a problem at the airport.

“The first tournament of the season started at the airport. It was the most difficult match of the tournament: getting to Riyadh. […] I had an appointment with Leo Sunday morning we were supposed to take the plane.
When we arrived at the airport, Leo realized he had left his toiletry bag with his wallet, passport and all his stuff in the Uber. […] At that point, I was about to miss my flight. So I got on, and Leo stayed at Madrid to try to get his things back and catch the next flight.”

A complicated start to the tournament for both players, especially for Leo Augsburg, who was initially due to arrive with his teammate on Sunday evening in Saudi Arabia, but which ultimately landed just hours before the start of their first game of the season at Riyadh, on Tuesday, February 11, after having had to apply for a passport in Argentina.

"Seba (coach) had to activate his contacts, turn everything upside down, and he managed to get him an appointment at the embassy ofArgentina Monday morning. They sent the request in Argentina, but with the time difference, they couldn't process the passport until 7 or 8 a.m. in Argentina. Finally, Leo took his flight on Monday at 17pm and arrived Tuesday morning at 8am. We played our first match on Tuesday in the second rotation, around 12pm.”

A sluggish first match

A victory in 3 sets for a first match which was not optimal in the preparation of the players.

"When Leo arrived at the hotel on Tuesday morning, I got up to go train with Seba. Leo then came straight to the game, almost at the last minute. We played the first game by a miracle. We went from making the semi-finals to almost not participating in the tournament.”

Cardona and Augsburger then defeated the recently formed Spanish pair, seeded 2, in 7 sets (6/6 3/6): Gonzalez/Sanz. A first surprise in their journey before facing the world number 2 pair Chingotto / Galan, a pair that had never lost before the quarter-finals in a regular tournament.

Victory against Galan and Chingotto

“Before this match, I had never beaten a Top 4 pair. I was missing that big result that I had been talking about for a while. But Leo entered the court with total confidence. And he transmitted that confidence to me. We had already faced Galan and Chingotto in training during the pre-season, and we played in a balanced way against them. So I knew that if we played well, we could win. In addition, the conditions were favorable to us: the ball did not fly as much as usual, which was to our advantage.”

Pablo Cardona and Leandro Augsburger
Credit Premier Padel

A victory in 3 sets for the young pair Augsburger / Cardona, which allows them to reach the last four against Stupa / Lebron, against whom they would fall in the third set despite two match points and an impressive performance.

“We went out on court with a lot of confidence. We started very well, but little by little our opponents got their bearings and started to dominate the game. We managed to come back in the third set and had two match points… Unfortunately, we didn't manage to convert them. These things happen in sport, and you have to accept it.”

A hard defeat to accept for the youngster Spanish, who is however aware of the quality of his tournament alongside Leo Augsburg.

“We played a great padel game and proved that we could compete with anyone.
We will continue to work so that next time we can lift the trophy.”

Its evolution and its 2025 objectives

One of the most notable progressions of the year 2024, with 43 places gained and its integration into the Top 15 at only 20 years old.

“We had started the year well, but honestly, at that point, I never imagined I would play the Final Master. I was ranked around 60th or 70th… it was totally unthinkable. In the end, it was crazy to be there. Nobody around me expected us to qualify.”

Cardona has already established himself as one of the best players on the world circuit, and the goal remains the same as last year: to play the Barcelona Final Master.

“This year I start as the number 9 pair and I finished 15th last season. My goal would therefore be to consolidate myself in this ranking and to play the Final Master. This would mean that I am now an established player in the Top 16 and that I am getting closer to the Top 8. It is a difficult milestone to reach, but achievable.”

Share the land with Leo Augsburg

A complementarity on the ground which was immediately confirmed Riyadh, with a similar game focused on attack and power.

"Leo Augsburg represents a great danger and has enormous potential as soon as he touches the ball. […] In the end, I don't need to cover Leo's area, because he also has a great facility to make winning shots. So, I play with much more calm, and I feel like the court is smaller on our side. At the moment, I feel that it is much more difficult for our opponents to get past us or take the net from us. In the end, we both cover a lot of space, and I don't feel the need to put too much pressure on. I think that's an advantage that we have.”

Both players have a lot of ambition despite their young age. One of the most talented pairs on the circuit, with immense potential, but which can raise questions about the consistency of their performances.

“When I started playing with Leo, I knew we could win big games. But now I believe we can also be very consistent.”

To Cardona, the tournament at Riyadh confirmed their ambition and gave them more confidence, with the aim of winning a tournament on the circuit:

“Honestly, I think when we play well and the conditions are a little bit in our favor, we are a very difficult pair to beat. If we improve a few details and become more consistent, I can see us winning a tournament this year.”

Nicolas Fillaudeau

A big sports enthusiast and former tennis player, I discovered padel a few years ago without really focusing on it. Then I became addicted to this sport by practicing it and watching the premier padel matches. Looking forward to sharing the 2025 news with you!

On the same subject

Tags