[Video] Belasteguín's tears after fifteen years as padel's world number one
Fernando Belasteguín, main flag-bearer for HEAD padel rackets.[/caption]
BELA: 15 YEARS AS NUMBER ONE
Probably everything has already been written about Fernando Belasteguín. A legend and myth of padel, at first glance there is no barrier that prevents Bela from achieving his goals. A few days ago, after securing his spot in the semifinals of the Zaragoza Open, the player from Pehuajó added yet another milestone to his impeccable record: finishing another season as the number one player in the professional ranking. And that makes 15. Quite something.
Despite there being four World Padel Tour tournaments remaining, Bela has already secured the number one spot at the end of the year. With this, he will have completed 15 seasons at the top of padel. He spent 13 seasons alongside another legend, Juan Martín Díaz. And the last two - this one included - with another genius, Pablo Lima.
He wanted to share this special moment with them. "I'll never get tired of repeating it. Padel is a team sport and anyone who sees it as an individual thing is very wrong. I've been extremely lucky to have had, in these fifteen years, a player who will never be seen again, like Juan Martín Díaz, and a padel machine like Pablo Lima as partners. If it hadn't been for these two phenomena, what I've achieved would have been impossible. So I want this award to be shared with them too," Bela said into the WPT microphones.
THE LEGEND'S TEARS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fADn2vNfX1oAfter defeating Nerone-Ruiz alongside Lima in their quarter-final match, Bela could not hold back his tears, aware of what that triumph meant to him.
World Padel Tour wanted to honor this legend with a commemorative plaque for his 15 years of leadership in the world of padel. The fans who attended the Príncipe Felipe witnessed a unique moment.
The HEAD Padel player admitted that it was not an easy match. Especially emotionally. "I had a match with many ups and downs. I knew that if we won, we would receive the reward for the effort made this season together with Pablo," he added.
FAMILY, KEY TO HIS SUCCESSES
His family, to whom he owes so much, according to him, was very present in his speech. "When they tell you that you've been number 1 for so many years and you start to think about all the time you've been away from your family, away from your children... Maybe we're seen as machines, that everything can be done. Everyone experiences their own things, but behind what they see there's a family, there's a team, and that's why, during the match, so many people who helped you come to mind," explained Bela.
"When you achieve it, your whole world comes crashing down because you start to think. Maybe when I calm down a bit, I'll start to enjoy it. Right now, I'm on cloud nine," he concluded, accompanied as always by his HEAD Graphene XT Delta Pro.
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Fernando Belasteguín, alongside the CEO of World Padel Tour, José Luis Serrano (Photo: WPT)[/caption]
