The Rise, the Rivalries, and the Rankings that Define Our Sport
As we find ourselves at the thrilling midpoint of the 2025 padel season, there’s never been a more exciting time to be immersed in the world of professional men’s padel. The sport continues to evolve at breakneck speed, with jaw-dropping matches, unexpected upsets, and a level of competition that keeps us all glued to our screens – and more importantly, inspired to grab our rackets and hit the courts ourselves. Of course, for many padel players, they prefer to play than to watch. I suggest that ALL players should get their steady dose of pro padel!
The Championship Chase: Who’s Winning What in 2025’s Major Tournaments
The major tournaments (FIP P1, Major, and P2) have delivered some absolutely spectacular padel this season, with two pairs dominating the conversation and the trophy cabinet. Let’s dive into the numbers that tell the story of 2025 so far.
The Big Two: Coello/Tapia vs. Galán/Chingotto
The top-seeded Arturo Coello (aka “el rey” or the king) and Agustín Tapia (“the Mozart of Catamarca”) have claimed five major titles this season, winning the Riyadh P1, Qatar Major, Brussels P2, Buenos Aires P1, and most recently, the Bordeaux P2. Their partnership continues to demonstrate why they’re sitting at the summit of the FIP rankings with 19,580 points each.
Meanwhile, Alejandro Galán (Galantico or sometimes the Alien) and Federico Chingotto (el super ratón, or the super rat) have secured four major titles, capturing the Miami P1, Santiago P1, Italy Major, and Asunción P2. The Spanish-Argentine duo has been pushing the world number ones to their absolute limits, with only 60 points separating them in the race for year-end supremacy.
The Rivalry That’s Defining 2025
The head-to-head battle between these two pairs has been nothing short of mesmerizing. Coello and Tapia currently lead their direct confrontations with a 2-1 record in 2025, having won at the Qatar Major and Brussels P2, while Galán and Chingotto struck back with their memorable victory at the Italy Major. Their most recent encounter at the Bordeaux P2 final was a masterclass in high-level padel, with Coello and Tapia edging out a thrilling 7-6 (14-12), 6-4 victory. That tie-break was fingernail-biting stuff, with Galán probably the one who brought his team down (not the smaller-get-everything Chingotto).
The Contenders and the Surprises
While the top two pairs have dominated, the beauty of padel in 2025 has been in the unexpected stories and breakthrough performances. José Antonio García Diestro (leftie) and Juanlu Esbrí shocked the padel world by eliminating Coello and Tapia in the Asunción P2 quarterfinals, marking one of the season’s biggest upsets.
Pablo Cardona (leftie) and Leo Augsburger have consistently reached the business end of tournaments, making it to the Asunción P2 final where they fell to Galán and Chingotto. Their explosive style and fearless approach have made them genuine threats to the established order. However, as explained below, their “project” has just recently come to a close.
The Rankings Revolution: Men’s FIP Top 100 Analysis
The current FIP rankings paint a picture of a sport in transition, with the established order being challenged by hungry newcomers. Let’s start at the top with the top 10.
Top 10 Men’s FIP Rankings (2025):
- Agustín Tapia – 19,580 points
- Arturo Coello – 19,580 points
- Alejandro Galán – 13,330 points
- Federico Chingotto – 12,180 points
- Franco Stupaczuk – 8,630 points
- Martín Di Nenno – 8,150 points
- Juan Lebrón – 7,965 points
- Miguel Yanguas – 7,505 points
- Jon Sanz – 5,765 points
- Coki Nieto – 5,765 points
Rise and Reorganise
Rising (Argentine) Stars:
– Leo Augsburger, after a sensational performance in the World Championship Finals (alongside Libaak) in Doha in 2024, has made significant progress, climbing five places to reach 25th position after strong performances throughout the season
– Tino Libaak has moved up to 32nd with consistent quarterfinal appearances
– Alex Chozas has gained ground, reaching 27th in the rankings
Reorganising – Partnerships in Transition:
The season has seen several high-profile partnership changes, with Franco Stupaczuk and Juan Lebrón forming an intriguing new alliance after their previous partnerships. But you get the feeling that it’s a tenuous relationship. There’s always a lot more movement the lower you go in the rankings. Meanwhile, established pairs like Yanguas/Nieto, Navarro/Bergamini and Di Nenno/Garrido tried hard to find that breakthrough moment. With these “projects” of teams not panning out, it wasn’t a great surprise to see some changes. To wit, courtesy of Padel Magazine, it was just announced that Augsberger is joining forces with Di Nenno, while Cardona is going with Tello. A one for one swap. More will surely follow!
The Spread of Nations across the FIP Top 1000 (men’s)
At the mid-point of the 2025 pro season, I did a review of the FIP (International Padel Federation) rankings for all players with at least one point. As such, there are a total of 2360 players, representing 89 different countries. Pretty phenomenal! Then, I focussed in on the top 1000, and how many players each of the top 20 countries has. As the chart below shows, there’s about 2x as many Spaniards as there are Argentines; and about 2x as many Argentines as there are Italians (#3). 11 countries (including Great Britain) have at least 20 players in the top 1000. And it’s fun to see that the USA and Australia have nudged into this list with 8 each, enough to constitute a full team (six) with two replacements!
The State of Padel: A Sport in Full Bloom
As we look at the current state of professional padel (more about the Global Padel Report 2025, which just came out, in another post), several trends emerge that fill us with optimism:
- Geographic Expansion: While Spain and Argentina continue to dominate the top rankings, we’re seeing players from more diverse backgrounds making their mark. The sport’s growth in countries like Italy, France, and the UK is creating new pathways for talent development.
- Competitive Balance: The fact that only 60 points separate the top two pairs in the men’s rankings speaks to the tightness of the battle to be the outright champion. No tournament is a foregone conclusion (N.B. the speed of the court is a major factor), and every match delivers edge-of-your-seat excitement.
- Technical Evolution: The level of play continues to evolve, with players becoming more athletic, tactical, and creative. The recent matches between Coello/Tapia and Galán/Chingotto have showcased padel at its absolute finest, with combinations of power, finesse, and strategic brilliance that leave spectators breathless.
- Infrastructure Growth: The expansion of the Premier Padel tour to new locations, including venues across Europe, South America, and beyond, is bringing professional padel to new audiences and creating opportunities for local players to compete at the highest level.
Looking Forward: The Season’s Second Half
As we move into the second half of the 2025 season, the battle for year-end supremacy promises to be absolutely thrilling. With major tournaments still to come, including the Paris Major and the season-ending Finals in Barcelona, every point will matter in the race for the number one spot.
The beauty of padel lies not just in its competitive excitement but in its ability to bring people together. Whether you’re watching Coello execute a perfect smash or his signature chancletazo, Galán making a ridiculous no-look save, or your local club champion pulling off their own moment of magic, the joy of padel transcends all levels of play.
The sport we love continues to grow, inspire, and unite us all. From the professional courts of Rome’s Foro Italico to the local clubs where dreams are born, padel in 2025 is more vibrant, competitive, and joyful than ever before.
Here’s to the remaining months of what promises to be an unforgettable season. Whether you’re a professional player, an ambitious amateur, or simply someone who loves the sport, remember that the joy of padel lives in every point, every match, and every moment we spend on the court.
And if you didn’t get enough from this write-up of the men’s tour, do go and check out my article on the first half of the women’s tour here.
¡Vamos, padel!
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Minter Dial
Minter Dial is an international professional speaker, author & consultant on Leadership, Branding and Transformation. After a successful international career at L’Oréal, Minter Dial returned to his entrepreneurial roots and has spent the last twelve years helping senior management teams and Boards to adapt to the new exigencies of the digitally enhanced marketplace. He has worked with world-class organisations to help activate their brand strategies, and figure out how best to integrate new technologies, digital tools, devices and platforms. Above all, Minter works to catalyse a change in mindset and dial up transformation. Minter received his BA in Trilingual Literature from Yale University (1987) and gained his MBA at INSEAD, Fontainebleau (1993). He’s author of four award-winning books, including Heartificial Empathy, Putting Heart into Business and Artificial Intelligence (2nd edition) (2023); You Lead, How Being Yourself Makes You A Better Leader (Kogan Page 2021); co-author of Futureproof, How To Get Your Business Ready For The Next Disruption (Pearson 2017); and author of The Last Ring Home (Myndset Press 2016), a book and documentary film, both of which have won awards and critical acclaim.
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