The Best Paddle Players of the Moment
In recent years, paddle has undergone significant growth, in both an economic and a commercial plane. Its growing popularity has made us more aware of the best paddle players of the moment.
In certain countries such as Spain and Argentina, paddle has gained immense preponderance. They’ve become permanent cradles of the best exponents of this sport.
However, the expansion of the World Paddle Tour encompasses more and more countries, who wish to enjoy the organization of one of the annual calendar dates.
Best paddle players in the men’s circuit
Spanish and Argentine players, together with the Brazilian, Pablo de Lima, take the top of the world ranking of this sport. At present, these are the most prominent participants in the world circuit:
Fernando Belasteguín
This Argentine player knew how to shine for more than a decade at the highest level. During his active years, Belasteguín broke several records of winning tournaments and remained at the number one place in the world. Today, he stands in the eighth position, but for many, he’s still the best player in the history of this sport.
Belasteguín is a rightie, plays on the reverse side and, in his own words, has the balloon as his best blow. His record is impressive: he’s won more than 170 tournaments, he spent 13 years as number one (on the planet) and, as if that weren’t enough, he remained undefeated. This was against Juan Martín Díaz, one year and nine months, between 2005 and 2007, the stage in which they won 22 consecutive events.
Daniel Gutiérrez and Maximiliano Sánchez: two of the best paddle players
Both Argentines are the strongest couple in the current circuit. They occupy the number one position in the ranking, matched in points. ‘Sanyo’ and ‘Maxi’ are, without a doubt, the double to beat in the WPT.
Image: padeladdict.com
Gutierrez, 34, comes from San Luis, Argentina, and became a professional at age 15. In 2006 he moved to Spain, the most fertile land for his growth in this sport. In his record, he has dozens of tournaments, in which he doubled with several of the bests on the circuit.
Sanchez, meanwhile, is a childhood friend of ‘Sanyo’ Gutiérrez. He’s 32 years old and is from Villa Mercedes, Argentina. He’s nicknamed, ‘Shark’, because of the courage he shows in each of his matches.
He’s been a professional player since 2006 when he had two stages as a partner of ‘Sanyo’.
Francisco ‘Paquito’ Navarro
The Sevillian is the top Spanish paddle player these days: he stands as the third-best player worldwide and has just established himself in the WPT Alicante Open. He’s been a professional since 2009. He’s dedicated himself to dozens of professional tournaments with different partners in the circuit.
Image: Facebook Paquito Navarro.
Navarro is also known as the ‘Elf of Seville’. He was able to shine in Spanish and international paddle for almost a decade. In addition, he has a YouTube channel called DaleCandela TV in which thousands of subscribers learn from his advice and recommendations to become better paddle players.
Pablo Lima: a Brazilian among the best paddle players
On the other hand and among a sea of Argentinians and Spanish players, we have Pablo Lima. This 33-year old Brazilian is now fourth in the ranking and a companion to Belasteguín. Lima has stunning effectiveness: he has won 87 percent of the 356 games he played in the World Padel Tour. He’s got 53 straight wins, a record that led him to win many titles.
Image: padelhome.es
The best paddle players in the women’s WPT
The women’s circuit has seen great growth in professional paddle in recent years, both in participation and in economic awards. These are some of the most important players today:
Majo Sánchez Alayeto
From Zaragoza, this 34-year-old Spaniard has two curiosities in her career as a paddle player. The first is that she’s a former tennis player. She decided to hang up her tennis racket in 2007, although she’d already become the national champion by then. Suffice to say, she couldn’t stay away from sports for too long, and soon enough the paddling world was welcoming her with open arms!
On the other hand, her partner is her twin sister, María Pilar, who still accompanies her today in the professional paddle circuit. Majo has more than 25 professional titles to her credit and has been a leader in the world ranking since 2017.
Image: padel.sport.es
Marta Marrero
Like Majo Sánchez, number two in the world of women’s paddle tennis is a former tennis player. And not only that: she won several Challenger Tournaments and two of the WTA professional circuit in doubles.
She’s been a professional paddle player since 2015. At the time, she started playing with Alejandra Salazar, who was her partner until 2018, the year in which they ended up with more titles (six).
After leaving tennis, Marta had to add a stronger and more effective defensive game technique when attacking. Her technical evolution has been fantastic, and today she’s half of one of the strongest couples alongside Marta Ortega.
Image: as.com
María Pilar Sánchez Alayeto
‘Mapi’, Majo’s sister, has been her partner since their foray into the world of paddle tennis, back in 2009. Together they’ve won many tournaments, and have positioned themselves in recent years as the strongest couple on the circuit. Both have an effectiveness of 83 percent of their 136 games played as professionals.
With all of the above, it’s clear that we, as spectators, have much to enjoy on each of the matches of the paddle professional circuit. Undoubtedly, paddle is going through a great historical moment. This is ideal for sports lovers to enjoy the best paddle players for a long time!
