The Palau Sant Jordi was the scene of Fernando Belasteguín’s (45) last time in his natural habitat, on 20×10. The best padel player of all time said goodbye to professional sports this Saturday after three decades of an unmatched career: 230 titles from 286 finals played, six World Cups and 16 consecutive seasons being number one in the discipline.
The Argentine played his last match on December 5 in the round of 16 in Milan. Until the last tournament he sought to be among the top 16 in the ranking to qualify for the Final Master in Barcelona, but it was not to be. The farewell had to be at the level of what was the best padel racket between 2002 and 2017, so the organization of the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Finals wanted to take advantage of this event of events to pay tribute to him in the Catalan capital.
For this, the boss He brought together his greatest rivals throughout his career and his great friends to say goodbye in the best possible way. Belasteguín starred in an emotional reunion with his partner for 13 consecutive years and with whom they formed a stellar duo, Juan Martín Díaz. The duo played two tie-breaks against Gabi Reca-Seba Nerone and against Juani Nieres-Pablo Lima.
Bela stayed on the blue mat set up in the venue to pair up with Lima and face Díaz-Mieres. The fourth and last race on the track was done together with Carles Puyol, a great friend of his; measuring himself against Juan Martín Díaz and Gianluca Vacchi, also close to the Argentine star. He won the four mini-matches: although the tone was relaxed – everyone was miked – nothing made him lose his competitiveness. A historic cast to say goodbye to Pehaujó.
But he Last Dance It didn’t stay there. Fernando Belasteguín received a commemorative award for his career from the International Paddle Federation and, subsequently, the most exciting moment of the tribute to the Argentine was experienced. His friends and family entered the dance floor and there was a performance of the song ‘Where you come from’, a song composed by Teddy Puig and Joan Garrido to pay tribute to him.
The more than 14,500 voices in the Barcelona pavilion chanted the Boss’s last name and a video was projected with images that reviewed his career. Some congratulations were added to them, such as that of Rafa Nadal.
Finally, and from the blue mat, Belasteguín – visibly very excited – wanted to thank everyone who accompanied him and the people who have been key during his time in professional padel. Now, his mission is to intensify his role as ambassador of this discipline: “I am leaving calm and happy. We have players who have all the values so that the sport continues to grow.”
In this sense, he asked the fans present for “a favor”: “The players are putting on an impressive show. They need them. “We have the best sport, it is the discipline of the future.” After his speech, he left the Palau Sant Jordi applauded with the entire audience standing and with a message on all the screens in the venue: “Thank you, Bela.”
Beyond Belasteguín’s farewell, the semifinals of the Final Master were played and Barcelona will crown its new masters on Sunday. In the men’s category, the main contenders for the most prized title of the season, Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia, fulfilled the predictions and achieved a resounding victory against Juan Lebron and Martín Di Nenno by 6-3 and 6-3 in less than 75 minutes.
Coello and Tapia, who have won 47 consecutive games, want their fifteenth title this year. Despite winning almost everything, for the former it would be the first time he has won the Masters Cup. His rival will come out of the other semifinal that is played at 7:30 p.m. between Momo González-Edu Alonso against Coki Nieto-Jon Sanz.
Ari Sánchez and Paula Josemaría will seek their 10th title of the year against the second in the ranking, Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernández
In addition to the tribute to Belasteguín, this Saturday the semifinals of the Padel Masters Cup will be held. In the women’s team, the final will be between the best couples in the ranking, Ari Sánchez and Paula Josemaría, and the duo formed by Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernández. The favorites and dominators of the circuit this year, Sánchez-Josemaría, asserted their status as top contenders for the title in the duel against Ale Salazar and Jess Castelló. The Catalan and Andalusian won quickly (6-4 and 6-3) over their opponents and will seek to be crowned masters this Sunday (starting at 4:00 p.m.).
It would be their tenth win this year, in which they have become the most successful couple in the history of women’s padel. It would be the second time they have won the Final Master together, after doing so in 2021 in Madrid. However, Claudio Gilardoni’s pupils have never won in Barcelona.
For their part, Triay-Fernández – who have won six tournaments this year – also defeated their rivals, Delfi Brea and Vero Virseda, in two sets. Brea has not been able to compete in the Masters Cup in the Catalan capital with her usual partner, Bea González, due to a pectoral injury. The second in the ranking got their ticket to the final with a 7-5 and 6-1. The duel was very even, but in the second round the Triay-Fernández duo was a gale, with the former giving a real recital. It will be the sixth final of the season against Sánchez-Josemaría, with a balance of 4-1 for the latter.
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