Padel, the big ahead in Paris. And how many stars in the stands

Electric blue is only passing through. After a few days and the fields of Roland Garros will turn red as history dictates. First, however, the eighth, quarter, semifinal and final of the Major of Paris, the third tournament of the Premier Padel, the new world circuit parallel to the World Padel Tour which is gathering fans and consensus. This time we walk through the history of tennis, where Rafa Nadal has won 14 times, the dream of every Spanish padel player on the circuit. Lebron, Galan, Coello, Paquito Navarro. All. “For us it counts more”, they told several times with a smile, excited and proud. So, space for the games that matter.

The scoreboard

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The round of 16 will be on the field today. Ale Galan and Juan Lebron, the number one of the circuit, winners of the Major of Rome, open. They will see it against compatriots Fernandez and Diestro, 16th ‘pareja’ of seeding. Navarro and Di Nenno, on the other hand, yesterday victorious in forty minutes against the Italian Argentine Rodriguez and the Uruguayan Ramos, will challenge Bergamini and Victor Ruiz (# 14). One of the most anticipated matches is the one between the Argentines Sanchez / Capra (# 8) and the Spaniards Nieto / Yanguas (# 9), while Belasteguin and the young Coello will challenge Lijo and Javier Ruiz, both Spaniards. The picture is completed by the Argentine derby Chingotto / Tello-Belluati / Moyano, the Spanish one between Luque / Alejandro Ruiz and Leal / Rico, Lima / Stupaczuk against Arroyo / Rubio and Campagnolo / Garrido versus Gomez / Gil. The French couples, Blanque / Maigret and Bergeron / Leygue, came out to the applause of Philippe Chatrier. The public in favor was not enough.

How many stars

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The secondary fields of the forum are a comings and goings of fans, onlookers and footballers, former and not, because now they mostly play padel. On Monday it was the turn of Juan Bernat, Ander Herrera and Leandro Paredes of PSG, at Roland Garros to watch the games and meet the paddlers. Bernat, Spaniard, took a couple of photos with his compatriots Galan and Lebron, while Paredes gave his number 8 shirt to Fernando Belasteguin, an Argentine like him. “I feel like a kid at Disneyland,” wrote ‘Bela’ on Instagram, 43, the symbolic player of the sport, still on track despite his age. For him, being at Roland Garros is the realization of a dream. On the stands after a match with friends also Sylvain Wiltord, European champion in 2000 at the expense of the Azzurri (his goal at the last minute of regulation time, under Nesta’s legs …) and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, former striker Liverpool is a big fan of padel.