Franco Stupaczuk spoke at the microphone of The Paddle House, to new racket in hand, and gives us his truths about his collaboration with Juan Lebrón, the ambitions of their new pair, seeded number 3 for the 2025 season, as well as the evolution of padel on a global scale.

An intense pre-season

The pre-season in padel can be challenging for players, who participate in tournaments such as the Reserve Cup (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the Hexagon Cup during the months of January and February, before officially launching their season in Premier Padel. Stupa has chosen not to take part in the Reserve Cup Series, which took place in Miami, but was well contestedHexagon Cup with the Team Rafa Nadal Academy, where he was associated with his former compatriot Álex Ruiz.

“It was intense (the pre-season) and I have pains everywhere, but we hang on and recover as best we can. In general, I train about six hours a day, morning and afternoon, and I try to take advantage of the rest of the time to rest, especially on weekends. This is also one of the reasons why I did not participate in the Reserve Cup : I preferred to stay and concentrate on my pre-season.”

The association with Juan LeBron “El Lobo”

Behind the scenes of the collaboration:

An inevitable collaboration that took a long time to come to fruition:

Juan LeBron Franco Stupasuck 2025?

“Juan had already contacted me in the past, which I had mentioned in an interview, but it caused controversy. Then, after the tournament of Seville, he tried to recruit me again, but I declined. He then contacted Martín, who accepted.”

Stupa explains to us, in this interview, the reasons for his refusal to collaborate with Juan Lebrón during the 2024 season.

“For my part, playing with El Lobo tempted me, but I always preferred to do a good pre-season with my partner before starting a year together. That's what I did with Martín, despite proposals fromArthur mid-season in 2022. I like to start a project on a good basis.”

The Argentinian, who played alongside mike yanguas in 2024, had the opportunity to reform “the Superpibes” with his compatriot Martín Di Nenno, but declined the offer, preferring continuity with Yanguas, before receiving the call from El Lobo.

Franco Stupaczuk Martin Di Nenno

"Martín contacted me to reform our duo, but I told him that I planned to continue with Yanguas. We had finished the year together well. But then the opportunity to play with El Lobo came forward, and I decided to give it a try with him.”

The complementarity of the pair and the daily life with Lebrón

Stupa did not hesitate when Juan Lebrón made him the proposal to join forces before the start of the 2025 season, despite his refusal the previous year. For the Argentinian, the two players are very complementary and are gradually finding their feet.

“We have a very similar style of play: a lot of intensity, great physique and a fighting mentality. He has an impressive quality of hand and plays aggressively and precisely. It is difficult to find this level of aggression and precision on the drive sideWhere Juan was one of the best players of the last three or four years. "

A complementarity not only in the game, but also in the state of mind and personality.

“He is very warm, he always greets you with a hug after training. But I have known him since his 12 13-years ! We played against each other at the Menores World Cup and over several seasons.

He is someone very frank, and I appreciate that. I prefer a direct person than a person who plays a double game, and unfortunately, there are a lot of them on the circuit…”

Objectives and ambitions for 2025

The pair's goal Stupa/Lebron is clear: the number 3 pair will aim for world number 1 status in 2025 and will fight to win titles on the circuit Premier Padel. It is also an opportunity to return to the reason for his separation with Martín Di Nenno.

We are here third world pair, so our goal is necessarily to look upwards. In 2023, with Martín, we fought for first place until December. But Arturo and Agustin were better, so we congratulated them. Our ambition was great with Martín, but we had reached a point where our progress was stagnating. So we took different directions. Ale and Chingotto have been ultra-consistent, they deserved their success. When a pair is better, you have to accept it. As long as we give our 100%, there is no regret.

The evolution of padel and its internationalization

The internationalization of padel gives rise to tournaments around the world, and players are increasingly solicited by these trips, finding themselves far from their loved ones for most of the season.

“It’s difficult, but I’m used to it. 14 years, I left my family to live in 1 300 km from home. So what I'm doing today is almost a walk for me. It's my job, but also my passion!”

When asked about the levers that could continue to advance this discipline on an international scale, Stupa tells us:

“Events like theHexagon Cup, PPL (Pro Padel League), Reserve Cup and World Padel League play a huge role. They attract big names in tennis and football, which intrigues the public and generates even more interest in our sport.”

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!

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