This is perhaps the most “hot” of this third day of the tournament in Qatar. Indeed, a high-tension scene took place on the central track during the second match of the day between Juan LeBron / Alejandro Galan et Javi Garrido / Mike Yanguas. A very close match, which ended with the victory of outsiders Garrido and Yanguas in three sets.

However, the meeting could have ended much earlier in the center. Indeed, Juani Mieres, coach of Mike and Javi, as well as his two players, asked the disqualification of Juan LeBron. A heated exchange, Juani Mieres and Juan Lebron not far from coming to blows… But what really happened on the court?

The gesture of humor that could have cost Lebron dearly

We are in the last set, break point for Yanguas/Garrido on Juan Lebron's serve at 3/2. 15/40 on the scoreboard, Juan Lebron serves on Yanguas and the point is launched. THE outsiders quickly manage to recover the net and force El Lobo to defend. Pressed by his opponents, Lebron misses a lob and gives Yanguas/Garrido the break.

Furious, the Andalusian hits a ball to the other side of the field in rage. Only problem: the ball passes only a few centimeters from Mike Yanguas' face. We know it, Yanguas is used to controversies…but here, his annoyance seems quite understandable. On his bench, Juani Mieres fumes almost as much. He, who is nevertheless so calm by nature, struggles to control his anger and suddenly gets up to go and rub shoulders with Lebron. El Lobo responds with almost as much virulence and tempers become heated.

The supervisor is called to the track.

A disqualification that would have been justified?

Very clearly, we are demanding the disqualification of Juan LeBron for this dangerous gesture. On the bench, his teammate, Ale Galan, seems annoyed, by the general situation, but also by his partner's gesture. Galan barely looks at his teammate. Jorge Martinez, although annoyed, tries to remobilize his troops and calm Juan down.

An interminable stoppage in play follows... Mike Yanguas and Javi Garrido try to have Lebron disqualified and the main accused pleads his case. It will take many minutes for the decision to come: Juan Lebron does not bail “that” of a warning. Insufficient for Mieres, Yanguas and Garrido.

Behind, you have to return to the track. The rest, we now know. The elimination of world number 1 Lebron/Galan, the joy of Yanguas/Garrido and the huge sensation in Qatar.

Of course, there is joy but also the hasty departure of Juan LeBron's track and the very cold handshake with Mike Yanguas and Javi Garrido, who did not wish to give more interest in their opponent. An exchange takes place between Galan and Yanguas but impossible to know what was said between these two men... In any case, it is with a closed face and fists on his hips that the Madrilenian leaves the court.

The conclusions of this incident

In the end, what should we remember from what happened on the central track? Well, several things actually:

For several months, we have felt a much more… peaceful Juan Lebron on the track. He was much less provocative and less annoying. We had thought of a kind of “seduction operation“. But now that the season is starting again… it looks like the Lobo demons resurface in turn. To see how this may evolve in the future.

Second thing, this kind of attitude won't help the Spaniard win back the hearts of the fans. Certainly, there are tons of Lebron admirers, but on the central last night, there weren't many. When I was perched in the central stands, shortly after the incident, I can tell you that 95% of spectators present supported the outsiders, and this despite Yanguas' not always impeccable attitude... When pair 10 won, the stands vibrated with applause.

Last point… it looks like Mike Yanguas and Juan LeBron are clearly not the best of friends. This isn't the first time these two have had issues on the track. We particularly remember a meeting in Paris last year, during the Major, where several moments of tension broke out between the two players. Yanguas played with Belasteguin at the time: a different scenario from this one since in the end, Lebron and Galan had escaped.

In short, we will inevitably hear about this incident a little longer. Perhaps we will even be entitled to an apology from Lebron ? The next few days will probably tell us…

In any case, Juan Lebron must have had a terrible end to the evening, given the faces Jorge Martinez and Ale Galan had at the end of the match...

Gwenaelle Souyri

It was her brother who one day told her to accompany him to a padel court, since then, Gwenaëlle has never left the court. Except when it comes to going to watch the retransmission of Padel Magazine, World Padel Tour… or Premier Padel…or the French Championships. In short, she is a fan of this sport.

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