Even the Strongest Struggle Too — Top Padel Athletes’ Courtside Mental War
Belasteguin displayed a vulnerable side at the Las Rozas Open 2021 on the World Padel Tour in an extremely open scenario.
So what happened?
They were seated on the bench when they had a discussion that every amateur padel player would recognize. However, how both players handled the issue demonstrates how mature and evolved they are as professional sportsmen. They both have excellent emotional intelligence.
This was the tournament’s final match. Belasteguin’s performance was dismal. It was Agustin Tapia and Pablo Lima on the other side of the table. All three of Belasteguin and Sanyo’s matches were decided in three sets, all in bad luck.
Check out the match in the videos below:
Belasteguin-Sanyo’s Coach: “…you on the first ball…” –inaudible tactical directions-.
Sanyo: “Stop Stop Stop”
Belasteguin: “Disastrous”
Sanyo: “Do whatever you want.”
Belasteguin: “yes, yes… disastrous….”
Sanyo: “it’s ok. Do whatever you want.”
Belasteguin: “yes… yes… I am playing every ball out!”
Sanyo: “… mmm”
Belasteguin: “I don’t know… Perhaps I am very, very… like like I want to accelerate, but my legs are heavy. My ideas are….”
Sanyo: “… unconfident”
Belasteguin: “I missed that backhand volley. Also, that ball on the fence was a big miss. Let’s see if I can play the next four rallies well for you.”
Sanyo: “fine, fine, fine. Do whatever you want.”
Belasteguin: “Come on now.”
Belasteguin-Sanyo’s Coach: “calm down.”
Belasteguin: “… arg arg… so bad dude so bad. I have not played so so bad in a long time, dude.”
Sanyo: “haha, we got away with it all tournament.”
Belasteguin: “ha ha ha, yeah, we got away with it all tournament, listen… come on… come on…”
Sanyo: “haha, come on now, I will help you out… I will help you out”.
Dialogue translation between Belasteguin and Sanyo on the courtside
So what’s our key takeaway from this?
While Belasteguin was missing so many shots, Sanyo understood that no tactical adjustment would make a difference. He interrupted his coach to cheer on a teammate. For tactics to function, the ball must be in play.
Belasteguin confessed to himself and his teammates that he was doing abysmally. Instead of resisting the circumstance, he embraced it. He asked for help from the team when he needed it the most. Then you had two people working on the problem instead of just one.
Sanyo understood and appreciated Belasteguin’s difficulties. Instead of putting more pressure, he reacted by giving his partner “freedom.” This is a fantastic boost to one’s self-esteem.
Sanyo de-stressed the situation by injecting comedy. A simple joke is usually effective. A good joke always does wonders. At the end of the day, every padel should be about fun.
Sanyo promised Belasteguin that he would assist him. He suggests that Belasteguin is not alone by doing so. They are “all in on it.”
This is what precisely what padel is all about! Teamwork and partnership.
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