It's a small clap of thunder: Pablo Lima will retire at the end of the season. The Brazilian has it announced on Instagram, 2023 will be its last year.

He is one of the legends of padel world who will retire at the end of this year 2023. Pablo Lima, 36, will play one last season before hanging up. A decision that may seem surprising for the left-hander who currently ranks 11th in the WPT ranking and 9th in the FIP ranking.

Indeed, in 2022, with Franco Stupaczuk, the Brazilian played seven finals, for three titles (two out of Premier Padel, one on the WPT). It is therefore still extremely competitive, and seems to still have good years ahead of it. His ex-teammate Fernando Belasteguin proves at 43 that it is quite possible to be one of the very best.

But as he explains in a video from the World Padel Tour, Lima, who started his career 23 years ago, had already thought about it last season. In reality there are two main reasons for this decision.

“I have been bothered by my knee for two years. It bothers me during training, sometimes I can't train as I would like. This is one of the factors that influenced my decision because I want to finish well, not being injured all the time.

And then there is the family aspect. I want to spend more time with my family, to be able to go to my son's birthday parties, to college shows. […] It is always more difficult to travel, I want to be close to my family.”

You will find the video (in Spanish with English subtitles) just below:

We will therefore take advantage this year of the last moments on the track of a player who will have made history, with in particular nearly four years spent at the top of the world rankings and 53 victories in a row!

For his last season, the one who is nicknamed "El Cañon de Porte Alegre" will be associated to Coki Nieto.

Xan is a fan of padel. But also rugby! And his posts are just as punchy. Physical trainer of several padel, he unearths atypical posts or deals with topical subjects. It also gives you some tips to develop your physique for the padel. Clearly, he imposes his offensive style as on the field of padel !

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