Brea wins even without Bea (and from the left): what a gift for Alba Gallardo

Some might have missed it, as for two consecutive days she was relegated to secondary courts as if she were just another player. But even without her partner Bea Gonzalez, in a tournament like the BNL Italy Major, World No. 5 Delfi Brea didn't want to miss out. So, once her partner was sidelined by a thrombosis in her left foot ("it breaks my heart to miss Rome"), the Argentine started scrolling through the list of contacts for a potential partner after the entry list had closed. Name by name, she found one in the Spanish player Alba Gallardo Salvado, 18 years old, ranked No. 121 in the world, and registered with her. Madness? Not at all, because the two have reached the quarter-finals. And never mind if, without Bea's explosiveness, matches that would usually be a formality turned into battles: 2 hours and 48 minutes to beat Arruabarrena/Polo on Wednesday, then another two and a quarter hours to defeat Marta Talavan and Ana Catarina Nogueira 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. What matters is winning, and so far, the improvised pair is doing just that.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Delfi chose to switch to the left side for this occasion, a position usually held by her partner, but she managed to win even from the "reves" (backhand) side. She also answered one of the great curiosities of the padel public: can a top player on the circuit beat two strong opponents even while playing alongside an 'average' partner? It seems so, as that’s the role Gallardo is playing: before this tournament she had 147 points and has now more than doubled her tally with 360 points.

Essentially, she enabled Delfi to play in the tournament, and the Argentine reciprocated by leading her to a result that could change her career trajectory. She had already shown some promise recently, reaching the round of 16 in Asuncion and winning a FIP tournament in Riyadh, but making it to the quarter-finals in a Major provides a much bigger boost. She will soar into the world's top 70, thus guaranteeing her the – until now rare – chance to always enter the Premier Padel tournament qualifiers.

As for Delfi, the absence of her regular partner in one of the four Majors will complicate their pursuit of Sanchez/Josemaria’s top spot, a position challenged by their competitors this year thanks to four consecutive titles between March and May. But Bea Gonzalez’s issue seems likely to resolve soon, so the competition will quickly heat up again. With at least 360 more points to count on. Among the women, Ari Sanchez and Paula Josemaria also reached the quarter-finals, needing less than an hour on the Central Court to dispose of the Caldera/Rufo pair with a double 6-2. On Friday, they will face the surprising Mesa/Ruiz duo, who knocked out the young Ustero/Alonso, the No. 9 pair, in three sets.