The power of paddle tennis is a reality. The triumph of the couple formed by Arturo Coello and Fernando Belasteguín in the men’s final put the finishing touch to a successful and unforgettable edition of the Miami Padel Open, which made the Spanish paddler the youngest champion in the history of the circuit, and returned the Argentine to the top of the podium in what was his 60th wound in a WPT tournament.
The first test of the year of the World Padel Tour also ended with the victory of Gemma Triay and Alejandra Salazar in a women’s category, which this season will have the largest television coverage in the ten seasons of life of the first professional padel circuit worldwide .
Both matches, in addition to the rest of the matches in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the tournament, were broadcast for the first time in Spain by Movistar Plus+ ; a sample of the success of coverage of a competition, which in its most international season can be tuned in live by fans from up to 110 countries.
The exclusive Island Gardens Club & Marina welcomed the WPT ‘s return to US soil after five years. An event that, in addition to attracting exclusive sponsors such as Blockchain.com , the Swiss watch firm Richard Mille , and investment funds such as 777 Partners and Boich Investment Group , had all the necessary ingredients to satisfy the Miami public : from performances from artists of the stature Wyclef Jean, Ricky Ross and Ludacris , to celebrities in the stands and VIP boxes of the club, such as the media businessman Gianluca Vacchi and the NBA star Jimmy Butler .
“Miami needs and deserves a tournament like this,” assured the Miami Heat guard after spending some balls with a CBS journalist. The prestigious American chain and the weekly Miami New Times were just two of the multiple national and international media accredited to an event, which has given a new impetus to padel in the United States.
“It is one of the fastest growing sports in the country,” said promoter Wayne Boich , before citing the “five million practitioners” of this discipline in Spain as an example when contextualizing the unstoppable progression of this discipline since the launch of the World Padel Tour .
“Paddle tennis is a sport that is growing all over the world,” added the four-time NBA All-Star and Olympic champion Jimmy Butler , before thanking the WPT for the presence of the best paddlers in the world in Miami: “It’s something great for the city,” he concluded.
After starting the year with an exhibition tournament in Acapulco and this first official stop in Miami, the World Padel Tour will return to the American continent in the final stretch of the championship, next November, with the dispute of the master’s in Buenos Aires and the Mexico open.