The P1 Premier Padel Pretoria continues to shake up the hierarchy of the circuit. After the early elimination of Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz in their first match, it is now the turn of the 5th world pair, Paquito Navarro and Martín Di Nenno, to leave the South African tournament earlier than expected, beaten in the round of 16.

A tournament that punishes certainty

At over 1,300 meters altitude—a record for the tour—the balls fly faster than anywhere else, and the usual reference points for the world's best pairs are shattered. These kinds of atypical conditions tend to level the playing field: the speed of play demands a technical and mental adaptation that even the top players struggle to achieve in just a few days. The world ranking then matters less than the ability to absorb this radical change of pace.

This is precisely what seems to have hampered Navarro and Di Nenno against a much lower-ranked pair, Álex Ruiz and Javi García Mora, who had recently teamed up. The final score, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in favor of the Spaniards, perfectly sums up the match: after losing the first set in a tiebreak, Ruiz and García Mora turned the tide to win in three sets, at the end of a spectacular battle lasting over two and a quarter hours. This performance was all the more remarkable for García Mora, who hadn't reached this stage of a tournament in a year and a half.

Pretoria P1: Altitude, the factor that could change everything

A tense end to the match

The turning point of the match came from a controversial refereeing decision: a smash by Navarro was deemed illegal after contact with the net, a decision later confirmed by video review. The Andalusian player's immediate reaction to the referee reflected all the frustration that had built up in an already tense match. The day's winners capitalized on this, breaking serve immediately and extending their lead.

Beyond the refereeing episode, Navarro had not hidden earlier in the match his annoyance at playing conditions which he considered poorly suited to padel as it is usually played, regretting the absence of any long rallies or baseline play.

A disillusionment that raises questions

This defeat illustrates a trend that is becoming increasingly evident throughout the Pretoria tournament: the top seeds are no longer immune. For Navarro and Di Nenno, the elimination raises questions about the adaptability of a duo that is well-established in the face of extreme conditions, while other pairs – like Sanyo Gutiérrez and Juanlu Esbrí, who also entered into a new partnership and won without faltering in two sets – seem, on the contrary, to be adapting to them without difficulty.

It remains to be seen whether this South African episode will have repercussions beyond the tournament, or whether it will remain a mere blip linked to exceptional conditions.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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