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It’s official: Agustin Tapia is now the world number one in padel. It’s a crowning achievement for the 23-year-old Argentine, who has reached the top of international padel. But his success is no accident: it comes from hard work and seemingly boundless talent. Let’s look back at his beginnings and his rise to the highest level of padel.
Agustín Tapia's beginnings in padel
Born on 24 July 1999 in Catamarca, Argentina, Agustin Tapia has always been passionate about padel. Inspired by fellow Argentine Fernando Belasteguin, the greatest padel player of all time, he began playing on the padel courts near his home. After several years of improvement, he left his family home and his padel club at just 15 to devote himself entirely to padel, with the sole aim of becoming a professional and making a living from his passion. In Rosario, Agustin developed his game through specialist training. Two years later, at just 17, he became number one on the Argentine circuit, showing the whole country he had something special. Then came the chance to travel to Spain, the home of competitive padel. It was there that he emerged as a prodigy of the little yellow ball and caught the world’s attention.
In Spain, Tapia impressed in the various junior tournaments he played. His well-rounded game (capable of playing on both the right and left) and aggressive style allowed him to win more and more matches against higher and higher ranked senior players on the WPT. He even managed to reach the main draw of the Barcelona Master at just 17 years old! A nickname then began to emerge: The Mozart of Catamarca. The young Argentine then made a major decision: moving permanently to Barcelona to join his coach Pablo Crosetti and commit to the World Padel Tour.
Tapia's achievements and victories
Agustín Tapia and Fernando Belasteguin
His first partner was Marcello Jardim, one of the oldest players on the professional circuit at the time. Throughout the 2018 season, Tapia improved alongside the Brazilian veteran, though they did not win a major title on the circuit. But the following season, Tapia reached another level thanks to his partnership with Fernando Belasteguin, his idol. The greatest padel player of all time (whom we’ve written an article about) had adopted a policy of developing young players, and he would spend the next two years playing with Agustin Tapia. Their partnership produced three major titles, the young Argentine’s first, and despite a 2020 season cut short by Covid, they finished as one of the year’s four highest-ranked pairs.
After a short stint with another legend of the game, Pablo Lima, Tapia began a partnership with Sanyo Gutiérrez, which showed great promise during the first part of 2022. Tapia was then one of the best players in the world, dominating most of his opponents, and even if results were not always consistent, he was often one of the (if not the) best player on the court. The end of 2022 was not a great success for the Argentine pair, and Agustín took a turning point in choosing his new partner.
Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello, new world number 1s
2023 began with youthful energy: for the first time, Tapia’s new partner was younger than him — Arturo Coello, born in 2002. The Argentine-Spanish pair swept all before them in 2023, with 32 wins from 32 matches and seven titles! Tapia became world number one ahead of the Lebron / Galan pair, who had topped the rankings for three years, fulfilling his childhood dream.
This new collaboration acted as a catalyst, and Tapia and Coello's dominance looks set to last given how impressive their play is. Highly aggressive, this pair of young players is the new sensation on the professional circuit!
Nox at the heart of Agustín Tapia's success
All these successes would not have been possible without hard work and talent, but also without Nox, who supported and believed in the Argentine's potential. Tapia was only 18 when he signed a contract with the Spanish brand, which sponsored him on the professional circuit. From this partnership, numerous quality products were born, designed and made in Spain. First and foremost is Tapia's racket, the Nox AT10 Genius 12k, which comes in several other versions (18k and 18k Attack).
Teardrop-shaped, this racket is like its owner: versatile and aggressive. The 12k carbon in its faces makes the racket fairly stiff and adds precision and power. Nox’s special HR3 foam is fairly dense, adding solidity and explosiveness to shots. A racket that seems powerful on prime inspection, it proves quite versatile.
For more power, the other 2 versions offer some quite interesting variations: an 18k carbon for the Genius 18k and a diamond shape for the Attack 18k.Nox has also launched a collection of padel clothing, which Tapia wears in official matches, as well as a collection of padel shoes featuring two models, the AT10 and AT10 Lux. They’re all available at Esprit Padel Shop, so don’t wait — dress like the new world number one!
The legacy of Agustín Tapia
A true padel virtuoso, Tapia has managed to impose his playing style to become world number 1 and break the hegemony of the Lebron / Galan pair. Through his various partnerships with prestigious players, he has made the most of every experience to become the best padel player in the world. Here is a best-of of his finest points to completely convince you that Tapia is the player to watch in the coming months!
