Doha’s night turns red. Spain are world champions, defeating Argentina thanks to a superb Lebron-Goñi, Coello and Juanjo’s tactical masterstroke

Gutierrez’s decision to field Lebron-Goñi in the opening match, which the Spaniards won against Di Nenno-Augsburger, ultimately paid off, setting the World Championship final on course for a 2-1 Spanish victory. The decisive point came from Coello and a superb Coki Nieto. Argentina, despite winning the previous two titles and five of the last six editions, could not prevail even with the formidable Chingotto-Tapia pairing

 

DOHA – The roar of the crowd, the players singing and dancing wildly in a sea of red, breaking apart and coming together again amid countless embraces, tears and chants. The spectacle at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, with the Centre Court ablaze with colour and echoing to even louder applause. Ladies and gentlemen, Spain are world champions. And credit must also go to Argentina, beaten 2-1, who fought against a team that outmanoeuvred them through tactical gamesmanship and, yes, on court too. Above all, Spain prevailed thanks to an outstanding champion in Juan Lebron and a young player making his World Cup debut, Aimar Goñi. Given how the match unfolded, the two were the leading protagonists of this final, although Spain’s magnificent decisive point was delivered by a king: Arturo Coello, partnered by Coki Nieto.

 

Can the first match of a three-match contest determine the outcome? Absolutely, when a World Cup final bringing together the best players in the world is accompanied by a chess match between the captains. On one side were Ovide and Gabi Reca; on the other, Juanjo Gutierrez. Tactical manoeuvring, selections, moves and countermoves in the choice of pairings and their order effectively shaped this World Championship. It was clear that Tapia and Chingotto were stronger than Paquito and Sanz. Equally clear, however, was that saving Coello as the final option, partnered with Coki Nieto, meant placing enormous faith in the ability of El Lobo Lebron to bring out the best in the immensely talented Aimar Goñi, with his distinctive hairstyle. And so the opening match, in which Di Nenno and Augsburger were favourites on paper, albeit by a relatively narrow margin, proved decisive. As we would see, the other two matches followed a predictable course, in line with expectations. Spain therefore lifted the trophy thanks above all to four men, like a novel by Alexandre Dumas: Juan Lebron, Arturo Coello, Aimar Goñi and Juanjo Gutierrez. The latter deserves credit for his courage and touch of inspired boldness in backing Goñi after losing not just any player, but Ale Galan. Without him, Spain have nevertheless reached the highest and most coveted position in sport, the one every player dreams of: world champions.

 

 

The opening match of the Spain-Argentina final was, in part, a battle between ‘pala brothers’, Lebron and Augsburger, as El Lobo would later put it, and partly a duel between two young players, Leo and Aimar Goñi, who will undoubtedly help shape the future of world padel. Leo is already competing at the highest level alongside the giants of the sport, while Aimar is building momentum. This was evident in the decisions of a captain who proved his courage: Juanjo Gutierrez. In a country overflowing with talent, choosing to field the young player from Pamplona, with his unruly hairstyle, in the final was a stroke of genius.

 

And so there they were: El Lobo and Goñi, standing side by side to take on a solid sky-blue-and-white pairing as formidable as granite. Were Argentina favourites? It was difficult to say. Much depended on how much talent and padel the two young players, Leo, born in 2004, and Aimar, born in 2005, could bring to the court. In the end, they would prove decisive, for better or worse. In the first set, at 5-5, Goñi produced a series of errors, including two smashes which Leo punished with two decisive counter-smashes, ultimately putting the set beyond Spain’s reach. Argentina took it 7-5. It looked like the beginning of the end for Spain, but it was instead the prelude to their triumph. The Argentinians moved 4-2 ahead with a break, but Juan and Aimar immediately fought back, bringing the score to 5-5 once again. Then, in an unexpected reversal of the previous sequence, Leo found himself caught in a spell of errors that ultimately led to the decisive break for Spain in the second set, in an almost cruel twist of fate. This time, it was Aimar who counter-smashed an Augsburger smash to secure the break. At 6-5 to Spain, Argentina had two break points, with Di Nenno producing some superb play, but Lebron was at his most elegant and Goñi was raising his game. Spain took the second set 7-5.

 

The third set got under way and Spain immediately secured a break. From that point, the scoreline became increasingly one-sided, with Spain moving 5-1 ahead before closing out the match 6-2 (5-7, 7-5, 6-2). Aimar then faced the Spanish crowd, beating his chest in celebration. Juanjo Gutierrez’s masterstroke sent La Roja into the second match, where they would face the strongest pairing in the World Cup, at least according to the rankings: Tapia and Chingotto against Paquito and Sanz. Aimar later said: “We dedicate this victory to the victims of the railway accident in Los Yebenes and Urda (26 October, 69 fatalities, ed.) and I would also like to thank Juanjo for believing in me.” He then expressed his joy and shouted ‘Vamos España!’ towards his supporters, while Juan Lebron wept. Yes, El Lobo himself was crying like a child. They were tears of overwhelming emotion, an extraordinary release of pent-up feeling, expressed in just a few words: “I don’t know what to say.” Amid countless words of thanks and a tribute to the victims of the railway disaster, he also had warm words for Aimar and for “a brother like Leo. I’m happy, but at the same time I feel sorry for him. That’s why I didn’t celebrate and instead embraced him,” he later explained, displaying a level of sportsmanship worthy of emulation.

 

 

The second match was a masterclass from Chingotto and Tapia, Gaby Reca’s leading pair, against Paquito Navarro, making his final appearance for Spain, and Jon Sanz. The Argentinians won 6-1, 6-2 in 55 minutes, taking the tie to the final and decisive match, just as they had two years ago. This time, the other world number one, King Arturo Coello, was on court alongside Coki Nieto, facing two of the heroes of 2024, Tino Libaak and Gonza Alfonso. The atmosphere was electric. On the packed Centre Court, Argentine chants rang out continuously, met by responses from the Spanish supporters, with everything conducted in an exemplary spirit of fair play. The match between Coello-Nieto and Libaak-Alfonso was another showcase of outstanding talent. But King Arturo is no ordinary player: he is the world number one, and the Argentinians sought to keep him out of the game as much as possible. They succeeded to an extent, but Coki was in exceptional form. In a first set featuring some extraordinary rallies, the break secured by Argentina in the third game proved decisive, as did the break that closed the set at 6-3 to Spain. The second set was a smooth yet relentless march towards victory for the Spanish pairing, ending 6-2 and sealing their World Cup triumph.