A week after  Malaga , the circuit  Premier Padel  They head to Pretoria for a completely new stage. Altitude, an indoor court, and a specific ball: the conditions seem tailor-made for big hitters. A potentially favorable environment for Coello and Tapia, but also for Lebrón and Augsburger, while Galán and Chingotto need to bounce back quickly after their semi-final defeat in Andalusia.

A ball that should travel further

Pretoria is located approximately  1 meters above sea level At this altitude, the air is less dense and offers less resistance to trajectories: at comparable speed and rotation, a ball therefore tends to conserve more of its energy during its movement.

The FIP clearly anticipated this particularity. The tournament will be played indoors, on Mondo grass, with a  Bullpadel Premium Pro High Altitude , specially chosen for the conditions in Pretoria. Three competition tracks will be installed for this P1 scheduled from July 26 to August 2.

The specially designed ball is intended to mitigate the most extreme effects of altitude. We'll have to wait for the first training sessions to know if the runway will actually be very fast. But on paper, the tactical implications are easy to imagine: less time to defend, average lobs more easily punished, and an even more decisive aerial game.

Pretoria P1: A brand new ball will make its debut on the circuit Premier Padel

Coello and Tapia, the natural favorites in these conditions

It would be difficult to imagine a more favorable environment for Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia.

Coello probably possesses the most intimidating finishing ability on the circuit. Thanks to his size, wingspan, and power, he doesn't necessarily need a very short lob to finish. Tapia, on the other hand, is capable of accelerating from almost any position with his kick.

In Pretoria, the challenge for their opponents will be finding a lob deep enough to repel them, without giving them a exploitable high ball. This margin for error is already slim under normal conditions and could become even narrower at altitude.

The number one teams also arrive with impressive momentum. Since the Rome Major, they have racked up titles in Valencia, Valladolid, Bordeaux, and Málaga. In Andalusia, they dominated Lebrón and Augsburger.  6 / 2 6 / 2  in the final, thus winning a fifth consecutive tournament.

In which part of the table are Lebrón and Augsburger located?

The men's draw had not yet been published at the time of writing. A key question therefore remains: in which half of the draw will Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger be placed?

Three scenarios are possible:

  • a rematch of the Málaga final against Coello and Tapia in the semi-finals;
  • a new confrontation with Galán and Chingotto, also in the semi-finals;
  • or a new final against one of the top two pairs.

The South African conditions should perfectly suit the power of Lebrón and Augsburger. Their ability to produce winners on the first or second shot could allow them to shorten rallies and avoid certain build-up phases where they are less consistent than the two best teams in the world.

But Málaga also reminded everyone of their limitations. After eliminating Galán and Chingotto  2/6 6/3 7/6 They never really worried Coello and Tapia in the final.

Should Galán and Chingotto change their playing style?

For Galán and Chingotto, the challenge will primarily be tactical.

Chingotto is one of the best defenders in the world, but a fast court naturally reduces the time he has to read the ball's trajectory and return an extra shot. Against Coello, his cross-court lob will have to be virtually perfect. A shot that falls short can immediately turn into a winning smash.

Galán will likely need to take on more responsibility at the net and prevent the pair from being under too much pressure. Chiquitas, low returns, and accelerations down the middle may become more important than long lob exchanges. The objective will be less about heroic defense and more about preventing Coello and Tapia from establishing a sustained attacking presence.

The defeat in Málaga served primarily as a warning. Galán and Chingotto had reached every final except Brussels for several months, but Lebrón and Augsburger broke this streak by winning their second head-to-head match of the season. The number two players now need to prove that this elimination was a fluke and not the beginning of a shift in the hierarchy.

Pretoria and London: Could the Race already be lost?

The Race is not mathematically close to its conclusion. Many tournaments remain to be played, including several Majors that award more points than the P1s. It would therefore be an exaggeration to claim that Galán and Chingotto will be playing their last chance between Pretoria and London.

But their margin of error has been greatly reduced.

By adding together the results obtained in 2026 and detailed on the official FIP profiles, Coello and Tapia currently have approximately  9 080 points , against  7 550  for Galán and Chingotto, that is a difference of the order of  1 530 points The Race takes into account the 22 best results of the season; at this stage of the year, all their 2026 performances are still included in the calculation.

A P1 title is worth 1,000 points, a final 600, and a semi-final 360. If Coello and Tapia were to win Pretoria and then London while Galán and Chingotto were eliminated twice in the semi-finals, the gap could thus approach  2 800 points Even with two finals for the number two seeds, the lead would probably exceed the  2 300 points .

The race would not be over, but the return would become extremely complicated.

The distinction is important:  It is not the mere fact that Pretoria and London escaped Galán and Chingotto that would condemn their chances Everything would depend on the identity of the winners. If Lebrón and Augsburger were to win one of the two tournaments, also eliminating Coello and Tapia, the gap between the top two pairs could remain relatively stable.

The truly dangerous scenario for Galán and Chingotto would therefore be another series of number one titles.

Towards a new three-way balance?

Lebrón and Augsburger have already demonstrated that they can beat the two best pairs. In Brussels, they eliminated Galán and Chingotto before defeating Coello and Tapia in the final to clinch their first title together. Their run to the final in Málaga confirms that they now represent much more than a pair capable of a single, isolated victory.

Another final in Pretoria would reinforce the idea of ​​a three-tiered hierarchy: Coello and Tapia as the absolute benchmark, Galán and Chingotto under pressure, then Lebrón and Augsburger capable of regularly joining the battle.

A title in South Africa would have an even greater impact. It would definitively establish the Spanish-Argentine pair as a credible third force, capable not only of defeating the favorites, but also of stringing together a series of results.

A tournament that will have an impact beyond the altitude

Pretoria will be immediately followed by the London P1, whose main draw begins on August 4th. The top pairs will therefore have to make an almost seamless transition from a tournament played at altitude with a ball Bullpadel specific to an indoor London competition played with the usual balls of the circuit.

Two weeks, two P1s and up to 2,000 points to be won: this period can have a significant impact on the rest of the season.

Coello and Tapia will be looking to turn their current winning streak into a real breakaway. Galán and Chingotto will need to stem the bleeding before the gap becomes too large. Lebrón and Augsburger, meanwhile, will have the opportunity to show that Málaga wasn't just a one-off week.

 At an altitude of over 1,300 meters, Pretoria could ultimately alter much more than just the trajectory of bullets. 

Antoine Tricolet

I discovered the Padel I stumbled into Spain at a campsite. I was instantly hooked; passionate about padel, I follow international and regional news with the same excitement as the sport itself.

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