World Padel Tour
April 9-14, Logrono Spain
Padel is a racquet sport with a difference. It is a little bit of tennis, some elements of badminton that looks a lot like squash. It is only played with doubles and you can compete indoors or outdoors.
The court is a mix between a tennis and squash court. The court is one third the size of a tennis court. It is surrounded by walls of glass and metallic mash. The ball can come off any of the walls but can only hit the turf once before being returned.
The World Padel Tour is an international tournament. The latest stop was in Logrono, Spain April 9-14.
MEN’S DRAW
The men’s draw held closely to form. The finals consisted of the first ranked team of Maximiliano Sanchez and Carlos Daniel Gutierrez against the third ranked team of Fancisco Navarro and Juan Lebron.
Sanchez in addition to being part of the first ranked team is also the number one ranked player. He shares that ranking with his partner Gutierrez who is also the number one ranked player. Their opponents, the third ranked team, consists of the third ranked Navarro and the 11th ranked Lebron.
In Saturday’s semifinals, Navarro/Lebron, defeated the second ranked team of Pablo Lima and Fernando Belasteguin, 6-3, 7-6.
Sunday’s finals witnessed the third ranked team, Navarro/Lebron, playing through on their momentum, as they defeated the number one team in straight sets, 7-6, 7-6.
Congratulations Fancisco Navarro and Juan Lebron.
WOMEN’S DRAW
The women’s Sunday final held a bit more excitement. The final saw the number one team of Marta Ortega and Marta Morrero go against the second ranked team of Alejandra Salazar and Ariana Sanchez.
Ortega is the seven ranked player, while her partner Morrero is the third ranked player. Their opponents’ in the final included the fourth ranked player in Salazar and the eight ranked player, Sanchez.
The number one ranked team coasted through the semi-finals on Sunday defeating the third ranked team of Lucia Sainz and Gemma Triay, 6-1, 6-0. The second ranked team had a little harder road to the finals, having to go three sets against the fifth ranked team of Patricia Uaguno and Elisabet Amatrioin. Salazar/Sanchez dropped the first set in the semi-finals, 1-6, before coming back to win the last two sets 6-3, 6-4.
Salazar/Sanchez rode their momentum into the Sunday finals, winning the first set 6-3. The second set was the marquee set of the tournament. The second set lasted one hour and 14 minutes. Each team had 22 winners with Salazar/Sanchez hitting into 16 unforced errors, and Morrero/Ortega responsible for 18 unforced errors. Neither team could capitalize on break points. Salazar/Sanchez were 1-of-2, while Morrero/Ortega were 2-of-9.
Eventually after an hour and 14 minutes, Morrero/Ortego rebounded to win the second set 7-5. The third set was replete with contested shots, pitting the power of Morrero/Ortego against the finesse of Salazar/Sanchez. Morrero/Ortego blasted into the third set with a 2-0 start, eventually winning the set 6-3.
Congratulations to Morrero/Ortego for their hard fought win!
