By RJ Mitchell
He is one of the fastest rising stars of the padel world and in an exclusive interview with the Padel Paper, Lucas Campagnolo has underlined just why he believes Premier Padel is changing the face of the sport and the parameters of its possibilities.
The Brazilian and his Andalusian partner Javier Garrido pulled off one of the shocks of the year in February when they dispatched undisputed World No.1 pairing Alejandro Galán and Juan Lebrón at the Miami Open to announce themselves as a partnership of stellar potential.
This was followed by a run to the quarter-finals of the Paris Premier Padel Major at Roland Garros earlier this summer.
Now in an exclusive wide-ranging interview, organised in conjunction with Premier Padel, Campagnolo, who is ranked No.19 in the FIP rankings, will reveal some of the secrets of his training and tactical thinking.
Further Campagnolo has reacted to the Padel Paper’s exclusive interview with the CEO of USA Padel Marcos del Pilar, confirming the 2023 launch of the USA Professional Padel League as a vital stepping stone towards Olympic inclusion.
But first Campagnolo’s thoughts about the impact of Premier Padel: “Because of Premier Padel now the sport is growing like never before and we are playing at venues that we would never have imagined playing.
“I have played in Argentina since I was young but the tournament that we had recently in Mendoza (Argentina Premier P1 Padel) we never had anything like that. The amount of people, the atmosphere and how well the players were treated it was all really good and the players are very happy with this.
“I can only hope padel continues to grow with Premier Padel the way it is and that will be very exciting for the sport.
“Unfortunately I didn’t play in Rome but I could see that the tournament was a dream, only a few years ago we could not imagine playing in a place like the Foro Italico, so for the players it is really good and for the sport too.
“In France I lost in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros (Greenweez Paris Premier Padel Major) where I was seeded No.8 with my partner Javi Garrido to Lima and Stupaczuk the No.3 seeds. We wanted to try and win the tournament but for me and Javi it was really good to make the quarter-finals and to play on Chatrier at Roland Garros was an unforgettable experience and we were really happy with it.
“In Mendoza I didn’t play with Javi as he was not there and I lost in the second round with another Argentinian player Agustin Gutierrez against Lima and Stupa and in the last six tournaments I play five times against them and have won just once!”
“But now so many countries are seeing padel and realising how cool it is both to watch and to play and the more people who see it then the more people will want to play it and that is very important.
“So the work that FIP and Premier Padel are doing is vital as more people are getting to see our sport in different places and that will only grow padel around the world and that is what we want.”
When it came to his partnership with 18th ranked Garrido, the man he affectionately calls “The Animal”, Campagnolo has interesting thoughts as to why a pairing which was only founded at the beginning of the year has had such a strong start.
The 27- year-old said: “Since the beginning of the year Javi and I have partnered and we always try to fight for every ball and never give up. Javi is really offensive where I try and put the ball more in the fence and I try to help him at the back of the court.
“When we are in attack he is an animal! When we are in attack and he touches the ball it is almost certain we will win the point.
“We don’t change the sides. I prefer playing on the right side because if Javi plays on the left side he is more effective at winning more points and taking more balls on interception.
“My game is slower pace and for him it is important that he plays the left side as he gets more balls that way so we will never change.
“I had experimented with a change of side to the left but I never stopped practicing drive (right court). I really like playing on this side of the track because I feel comfortable. I always thought if I came back to the right with the defensive solidity I have and now with Javi, who is such a powerful player we are forming a strong team.
“Our objective is to be in the first eight couples in the world. Right now we are No.9 or No.10, I guess, but we want to be inside the top eight.”
Regarding the ethos behind his approach to training Campagnolo’s single-mindedness shines through: “I think we have to improve everything. Our mentality must get better our physicality must be stronger and we can always improve our shots. A professional player can’t become complacent; every time he goes to the court, he must try to give his best and make himself better.
“On court we will always train two against two and make the situation about the game. For example this week we are playing in Cascais and that is outdoor but before we had been playing indoor so then we were at another club to train outside.
“The biggest difference between indoor and outdoor is the smash and hitting the ball out of the air when there is wind and sun to deal with. So we try to make situations that will improve us for the next tournament.
“We don’t have much time to train because of all the tournaments we are playing but when we do we try to improve certain areas that need work.
“But your mentality is very important, if a shot is not good you must improve until it is good enough to do well for you in a match.”
“I am Brazilian but I have been living in Madrid for the last five years which I think is the best place to be and train for padel in the world.
“It is really important for me as a player to be around good coaches and other good players to improve my game.”
Turning his attention to the news that the USA will be launching a professional padel league next season and the need for other nations to continue to take up the sport the Brazilian was forthright.
He said: “It is really important that tournaments take place in America. You can see how strong America is at the Olympic Games and we need padel to grow there as that will help one day to get the sport into the Olympics.
“So, we need as many countries playing as possible and that they have many players playing padel. For example it is really good that in Italy there are so many players who are now playing Premier and the tournaments there, like Foro Italico, were very well supported.
“You had Italian players playing against the best players in the world and that was great.”
Reflecting on the war of the governing bodies raging between the International Padel Federation and World Padel Tour, Campagnolo made a plea for peace: “We do not need more fighting with the World Padel Tour but it is really important to us that we have the opportunities to play that FIP are giving us. It is really important for the players to have FIP with us.
“FIP are helping us with everything we need and as a player that is great.”
The Padel Paper would like to thank Mayur Bhanji at beIN Media Group for his assistance in organising this interview.
