Chingotto/Tello, something much more than mere sport partners

The golden era of Fernando Belasteguin and Juan Martin Diaz has ended, a sporting brotherhood that lasted for 13 years full of one success after the other. In today's padel it is rare that a pair last more than a couple of seasons, or three at the most. But there are exceptions at the highest levels as seen by the Argentinian players Juan Tello and Federico Chingotto, classified fifth in the FIP world rankings and playing together since 2014, never having shared the court with anyone else in professional circuits.

The reason for their indissoluble bond is sport, given that for some time they are top players, but also on a personal level due to the shared choice six years ago of leaving Argentina. They arrived in Spain at a very young age and without their families, and in the first few months far from their homes they had to rely on each other to overcome their difficulties, giving each other support. And thus, their game on court improved, their results became more and more interesting, but also their personal bond became a sort of brotherhood, one of the reasons for their great success.

Seeing them off court it is difficult to believe that they are professional athletes of the same discipline. Chingotto - born in 1997 in Olavarria (Buenos Aires) - is a higher level player, but rather shorter: he is barely 170 cm which is no mere detail in a sport that is becoming ever more physical.  Tello - from Cordoba- is two years older and his physique is similar to  that of other top players and is one of the most aggressive players in the world.

And yet, they share the court because they complemented each other and together, they are frighteningly effective. Chingotto – playing on the right – is specialised in defence: he uses fast leg work, solidity, great vision of the game, and an incredible amount of energy. Tello on the other hand, takes on all the high balls: he is able to manage them like no one else, and thanks to the explosiveness that mother nature has given him (meriting the nickname "El  Gato", or the cat) but he also has a highly trained hand.

According to many experts, including the circuit leader Alejandro Galan, the Chingotto/Tello duo has the potential to become number one in the ranking. Their continuity is already there; all they have to do now is to keep improving. Perhaps Chingotto more in attack, and Tello more in defence to give less clues to their opponents. Semifinalists in Doha in the first Major of the Premier Padel where they were defeated by Galan and Lebron, now they are trying once more at the Grand Stand Arena of the Foro Italico to take the first row position in the new era of international padel.

In August Premier Padel will take them back to their home country of Argentina, where Chingotto has invested part of his earnings to create "Chingoland", a three-court padel complex which is now managed by his parents. The aim of this? To  popularise the sport that has made him famous, but also to offer to many youngsters from Olavarria the possibility of practising padel in an environment of the highest quality where professional ambitions are cultivated. Something that he has not always had in the past.