Spanish padel maestro Alejandro Galan Romo was in UAE recently to introduce his new racket. He talks to Gulf News on the rigors of padel tennis circuit and what keeps motivating him.
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00:00I always admire people who are number one, it doesn't matter whether it's in sports and business
00:04or anything in life, to be number one at anything in the world especially is not easy. So I want to
00:10ask Gala and Ale, what does it mean to you to be number one in the world?
00:14Good evening everyone, welcome to another show of Paddle with Adil powered by Gulf News. Thank
00:31you Gulf News again for having me and today is a very very special episode because we have with us
00:37the number one paddle tennis player in the world, Ale Galan with us. So thank you Ale for joining
00:44us today. Ale, how does it feel arriving to the UEE and what is the main purpose of your visit
00:51to this country this time?
01:07Well basically he is happy to be back in the UEE, it's always good for him to be back and this time
01:25is very special for him because he's introducing to the world his new racket, the Metal Born,
01:32which is the master edition. This is a special edition which is made especially for Emirates
01:37Paddle. What I understand from Fermin is that there are only 60 in the world. Can you tell us
01:42a little more what is so special about this racket?
02:07It feels like basically everything on this racket is somehow matching with the UEE, like the colors and the fact that it's something unique and limited and special.
02:33So he feels it's the right place to do the reveal and it's also very special because he will be only
02:41playing with this one at the Masters, only at the Masters tournaments, yes, not every tournament.
02:46This season is one of the most busiest seasons in the history of paddle, so many tournaments
02:52happening you know back to back. So how does a player like Ale Galan, who's number one, who has
02:57to defend his title, how does he prepare for such a year and such a busy season?
03:02I think it's a new season in every sense and that fills me with motivation.
03:09They are different challenges, challenges that we are going to propose. We have had to adapt to the preseason
03:15and obviously we will be living together and using the same competition to train because we will not have
03:23time to go through Madrid in the academy and adjust in what we have to improve for the next
03:32tournaments. So we will use the same competition to train. The preseason has been hard and thinking
03:40that this year will be the most complete we have had so far and well, the truth is that,
03:46as I told you, with the objectives to be new, I am very excited to face them.
03:51As you said, he agreed with you, this is the busiest season. He said that basically the main
03:59changes they have to do is that they did a very strong preseason. They were working harder this
04:04time because they knew how this year is going to be, how hard, how tough it was. He said that
04:13it's a bit difficult because he cannot train that often in Madrid in the academy as he used to do
04:18every year, but he said that now with so many tournaments and competitions,
04:24somehow they use these competitions as trainings as well. He said that the fact that there are so
04:31many new tournaments and so many trips for him is like a big motivation, like he feels
04:37excited about it, he wants to go full. I always admire people who are number one, it doesn't
04:42matter whether it's in sports and business or anything in life, to be number one at anything
04:47in the world especially is not easy. So I want to ask Galán, Ale, what does it mean to you to be
04:53number one in the world? Do you feel any pressure? Do you enjoy it? Do you feel more responsibility
04:58because you know you're at such a high stage? Do you feel more security? What are your feelings?
05:13I think it's great to be number one and to be able to use the same tools that were used to get here.
05:18So it's been the same way, working and facing each game as if it were the last.
05:27And I think the desire to compete is what makes me stay number one in this case
05:34and I don't feel any pressure. I think every year we start the season and we have to
05:42see who does it better during the year. So we all start from scratch and the important thing is to
05:48keep adding points, achieving the greatest tournaments and successes possible to finish
05:55in the position we want and we have set the goals.
05:57Being number one is very hard but not the fact to reach the number one, also to stay as a number
06:05one. He said that's the hardest part and he said that to keep himself focused, he is always keeping
06:11in mind the previous job that he has to do to become the number one in the world. So this is the
06:18main reason why he is still focused and he's still working very hard every day to be in that
06:25position in the ranking. And he said that it's not like more pressure, it's like he feels somehow
06:33there is always a challenge there, he can always lose that opportunity. So he worked very hard to
06:38stay in that position.
06:40Who does he think is his most toughest opponents at the moment? Who do you think
06:47is going to be the biggest competition for him this year? Does he think it's Paquito Andineno,
06:52Tapia Sanyo or maybe somebody else? Who does he see as a big challenge this year, this season?
06:59Well, I think that the padel at the moment is super equalized, super balanced. All the games are
07:04very tough. And if you ask me this question today, in this case, the most difficult,
07:10because we have lost so many times this year, are Paquito and Andineno, who are obviously
07:16fighting for everything too, to win all the tournaments. They have won two finals,
07:21we have won one. And that may be, but really all the rounds we are having, the
07:29matches are being very tough and we are all facing them the same way. There are no opponents
07:35to whom we feel more pressure, because they can be better than others. Really,
07:43we try to get our best version and there we think we are very competitive.
07:50Yes, you're right. Because of the finals they were playing during this year,
07:54Paquito Andineno can be one of the strongest teams in terms of the last tournaments.
08:02But he said that today the World Padel Tour and all the competitions are very similar,
08:07the level of all the teams. And when he sees the draw in the beginning from the first match,
08:12they feel like it's strong, it's hard. So they take every match very seriously,
08:16they go very focused and they try to keep the best version they can show in the court
08:23against everyone. It's not like they have some team as a strongest or something like that.
08:28He's number one today, but I'm sure throughout his career, through his journey,
08:32there must have been many big things that happened. So can you tell us any one incident
08:38that happened that made a big positive difference towards his career?
08:44Was there any such moment or any such thing that helped him to becoming number one today?
08:52I think it's the team. When my coach, Jorge MartĂnez, believed in me, he gave me the opportunity
09:00to train at the academy that I'm training at today. And being a normal player,
09:09he believed in me, in giving me the scholarship to be able to get to where I am today.
09:14And he told me that every training session that I trained to win, not the matches I had,
09:19but to win the number one at that time, really warmed me up and helped me to be able to
09:29change my mentality and really want to be number one and want to win number one,
09:35even if at that time I was very far from the table.
09:38For him, it was very important when his coach, Jorge MartĂnez, gave him the chance to start
09:45training in the academy where he is training right now. And this was long ago when he was
09:50not a top player. But his coach told him from the first moment that he should fight for that and
09:56he should prepare himself to beat not the teams who were in that moment on his same level.
10:03He had to prepare to play against the number one at that moment, who by then was very far from him.
10:09But he said this mindset from his coach gave him somehow the energy to take it that serious.
10:19And for him, this is one of the really important motivational things that he got through to become
10:25today in the number one. Since long ago, he strongly believes that the teamwork is super
10:31important. Like it's something for him, like one of the most strongest values or whatever.
10:39There are a lot of new people who are beginning padel tennis who want to be, we know, probably
10:45like Galan. Maybe they are in the amateur or the pro level, but not the level like he is.
10:50So to become a professional like him, what is the most important? Is it the skill? Is it the
10:56fitness? Is it the mental strength? Or is it a combination of all three? If you want to become
11:01a WPT player, what is the most important thing since he's made it?
11:26I think it's being professional. That you live for it, that what depends on you, on each player,
11:34which is taking care of you, training hard and living for and for the sport, or at least I do so.
11:43I think that's undeniable and that everything that is considered professional does so. Then there are
11:49players with more or less talent or skills, with better or worse physical because of their genetics,
12:00that they are very good mentally or that they have more ups and downs, but the important thing,
12:08I think, to get there is the point of the chest. It's very difficult to say like
12:15there is one way to become professional and this is only the way. There is not a secret. He says
12:20that he strongly believes that every single player will have a different, you know, how to say, like
12:29some players are very clever, some other players are very fit, some, you know, but what is very
12:33important for him and he strongly believes in that is that it's impossible to reach that place
12:40without working very hard and without taking this job as your life. Like he said, he strongly
12:47believes you must breathe padel, you know, you must be thinking on padel like all the time,
12:53going to sleep, thinking on the next training. You need to take care of yourself in terms of the food,
12:58in terms of training in the gym and take it very seriously, but he said that there is no
13:05limits. Not because one person is not fit enough or not mentally strong enough,
13:10they cannot do it. If they work hard, it's possible. According to him, which is the most
13:15deadly form of attack in padel? Is it the vibora? Is it the bandeja? Is it the smash? Is it the lob?
13:34For him, in his case, he was working a lot in the vibora and he has this shot like as a very
13:51safe shot in his game and it's at the same time one of the most aggressive shots he has,
13:56but in general, talking about padel, definitely the smash is the strongest one.
14:02Batata, just for the audience who don't play padel tennis, can you explain to them what is a
14:07smash? Everybody knows. What is the vibora? You know, so at least the people who don't know padel,
14:11maybe they can understand this. The vibora, you would say it's a mix in between the bandeja
14:16and the smash, okay? So basically with the bandeja, the main difference is that you are not trying to
14:22score. You are just trying to stay in the net to keep the position. So you are not really searching
14:26for the point. But with the smash, you go 100% trying to get the point. I would say the vibora
14:33is in between. It's not so defensive, okay? So you're trying to cause some damage there in your
14:40opponent, but it's not so risky as a smash. How does he try and avoid injuries? What can people
14:46do to make sure that they don't get injuries while playing sports? This is something that
14:50is very important.
15:20He says it's super important the previous work before starting with the competitions or the
15:42trainings. The previous work they do in the gym to get the muscles in shape and ready to
15:50be ready when it's the time to play. And also it's super important for him to keep the
15:55recovery part daily. Like he's very often going to the physio and taking care of the
16:02proper stretching and take care before and after the match. And this is my final question for you.
16:09We see that Qatar and UAE, both of them in the GCC are really, really promoting paddle so much.
16:17In the UAE, we had the Dubai Paddle Cup recently. In Qatar as well, there's big,
16:22big tournaments which are happening where even the prize money is much, much more than what is
16:26generally offered in WPT. So I want to ask you, do you think that the GCC or primarily Qatar and UAE,
16:35do you think that this is going to be the new hub or the next hub or a second hub for the future
16:41for the paddle tennis tournaments, at least the major tournaments that are happening in the world?
17:04He says that definitely, yes, the GCC is pushing. It's already on the map. As we said, it's like
17:31they came to stay. And he said it will be super important in the next years to start
17:38seeing some players from the region competing at the professional level. So he says it's super
17:43important, the work like the one Emily's Paddle herself, we are doing here with the kids to let
17:49them learn in the right way and take the sport as a career, as something serious. And he strongly
17:56believes that in the future, when the players do the right job here, there will be many of them
18:03in the professional competitions. On that note, I must say thank you so much, Ale Galan. Thank you
18:09so much, Batata, for giving this time to me, for the show, for Gulf News. For all viewers,
18:17I want to say, I just want to say, I want to see you on the courts and playing paddle
18:31for sure. Thank you to others and also thank you to Gulf News to give us this time and space
18:37to promote this sport that we all love and we all play in. We strongly believe it's a huge
18:44community that makes us all happy.