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Hey Padel enthusiasts welcome to Padel Smash Academy, I am Cesc and I am here with Julian and we're all about Padel! Whether you're new to the sport or an experienced player, you've come to the right place. Our goal is to provide you with the best tips & tricks, news, and weekly lessons to help you improve your game and take your Padel to the next level. So grab your Padel Racket and let's get started with all things Padel on Padel Smash Academy.
Hey, Cesc here, and we're interviewing
the number one player in the U.
S., Luis Estrada.
And we are All Things Padel.
Alright guys, I'm here with Luis
Estrada, number one in the U.
S.
A.
Welcome, Luis.
Thank you for having me, Cesc.
Alright, so where are you
originally from, Luis?
So, I'm originally from
Valencia, Venezuela.
Wow.
Yeah, Venezuela.
So, did you ever play
any other racquet sports?
Yeah, I grew up playing tennis.
I've been playing tennis
since I was three years old.
I kind of stopped playing two years
ago when I started playing Padel.
I still teach, but I basically stopped.
So that was in Venezuela, right?
Yeah.
So when did you come here to the us?
So I started coming consistently
when my dad moved here in 2008,
but I moved completely 2016.
Wow.
And so did you start playing
Padel in Venezuela or here?
Here?
I fan about Padel and
everything right here.
So how, how are you introduced to Padel?
Like what club or, or you know, what
did you think after you saw that?
So right here in Orlando, I'm based
in Orlando since I moved here.
And the one that got me into it was
the one and only Marcos El Pilar.
So let's say that on August 2021, around
that, I played for the first time.
And I think on a Monday, I
played for the first time.
Marcos saw me playing.
He saw that I was super
excited or whatever.
And then he said, like, why
don't you get certified?
I have a certification.
Back then, it was the Diaz.
Right now, we're at Palo NBA USA.
Why don't you get certified this weekend?
The next day I sign up and that's
how everything started on the same
week that I started playing I got
certified So did you continue playing
tennis or you said man Padel?
This is it I was a hitting partner
at the time and I said, this is it.
I'm done.
I'm done with tennis.
Uh, I Say, I mean, uh, maybe I kept
hitting for a little bit But then as
soon as I started traveling that was it.
So did you start playing tournaments?
What tournaments were there at that time?
So still USPA I think the first
tournament that I played was in
here in Orlando actually It was in
October 2021, no, November 2021.
And my first one that I tried
was to Houston, to the Woodlands.
I played with a friend of mine since we
were little, and he'd never played Padel.
He played maybe a couple
times and we got destroyed.
But that's how it started.
I can tell you that for the first
year, I didn't win, maybe I won
two matches in my first year.
So what was the transition and
the unique shots to Padel?
The transition I think was
key, uh, and that's having a
good coach and a good mentor.
Marco said, like, you have good
hands, you have great bodies, but
as long as you don't learn to play
padel, you won't be successful.
So, for the first year, year and a half,
I was letting the ball go to the wall.
Seeing the wall come back rolling.
And I was like, okay, I'll get it one day.
But I, I was missing and missing
and missing until finally
everything started clicking.
And so when was that?
I mean, there's, I call the
stubbornness, like the one through
10, especially play tennis.
You, you're jumping up the baseline and
you don't want to hit the back wall.
And you're smashing everything, and you
don't want to learn the other shots.
At what point did you say, okay, I
gotta learn the back walls, and I
gotta learn the unique aerial shots?
No, from the beginning.
From the beginning, I'm really open.
I know it's a new sport I needed to learn.
And also, it's good for me that
growing up, I had good coaches.
I mean, I was respecting every
single thing that they were
saying, I was doing them.
So, they tell me, okay, you gotta hit
the ball with two hands on the floor,
and then you hit it with your leg.
As long as they were saying
it, I would trust them and
same thing happened to Marcos.
I was fortunate enough that I had somebody
that he was good and that I could trust.
Right from the bat.
So was he your, your, uh, your coach?
Yeah.
You can say, even though he, I mean,
we, he's the one, he's the one that
made me the player that I am today.
So the reason that I'm where I'm
at, where I'm at is because of
Marcos de Pilar and he knows it.
Now, uh, do you have another
coach or is it just still him?
Just Marcos.
Wow.
Wow.
And your coach now as well, right?
Yeah.
I mean, I got certified right there.
I was helping me.
I helped him for around
two months here in Orlando.
Then I went back to tennis, uh,
because, I mean, I have more
freedom working with my dad.
Uh, it was more successful
with my, I mean, we have a
tennis academy here in Orlando.
Uh, so I went back to, to tennis to coach.
So that, that will give me
more time to travel and play
because I have more freedom.
So let's talk about that.
Um, do they have a Padel
courts there at your dad's?
No, it's actually where right now the U.
S.
State National Campus is
actually across the street, the
neighborhood in front of it.
It's a private community.
We have six tennis courts.
They're thinking maybe, I don't think
it's going to happen soon, but they
have space to put some Padel courts.
I'm sure you're probably pushing it.
Come on.
Come on.
It'll happen.
It'll happen.
I'm sure it will.
I'm sure it will.
Okay.
So, I mean, you've climbed up
the, you know, the, the, the
ladder to become number one.
How difficult was that?
It wasn't from the beginning, but,
uh, being honest, uh, seeing the
guys that were at the top at the
time when I started, I was like,
okay, uh, I want to be there.
Then the second, third tournament, I
was like, okay, actually, I just need
to put the work and I can be there.
Nobody was taking it completely seriously
here in the US until people actually
started training or whatever, but also
I got fortunate enough that Marcos
also introduced me to Nico Gritelli.
He made that connection that I
think it was life changing for both.
And I always tell him that if he
didn't put us together, maybe we
would be killing each other right
now to compete against each other.
Right.
So he's your partner, correct?
My partner.
Yeah.
We've been playing together
for almost two years.
Wow.
So does he play left or do you play left?
I play left.
Nico plays right.
Uh, he can, he can play both.
Actually.
I just cannot play right.
Hopefully one day I learn.
And if we need to switch, we'll switch.
But I don't know how to, I was
just like you, the tennis players
usually on the left side, for sure.
You know, but once I get injured,
I moved over to the right side
and I appreciate the right side.
And like, I don't know how to
play it, but as soon as I got
better, I'm back to the left.
I mean, it's actually little
by little, the right side
player is getting more value.
And appreciated by the people,
also by the viewers, by everybody.
And it's, it's key.
I mean, and not so much by the
playstyle that you're building the
point for the left side player.
That's not happening anymore
even in World Bad Tour.
Everybody's being aggressive,
everybody can hit it.
It's changing.
It's changing, it's evolving.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay, so, uh, you're, you, last year
you were, you played in the PPL Yep.
Right?
The LA Beats beat.
Yep.
So, 2024, you gonna be, uh,
participating in the PPL?
I still gonna be with
the La Beat LA Beats.
Wow.
I'm still gonna be with the LA Beat.
We have some big sign-ins
that I cannot announce yet.
Come on, give us a hint.
They're, come on.
They're, you can't tease us like that.
They're huge.
I mean, come on, listen, come on one.
Everybody knows about him.
Everybody knows who he is.
Go for it.
Not everybody knows who he is.
Come on, a little hint, just, oh man,
well anyways, when it happens you
gotta send me a text, we gotta get
your phone in, we gotta put it on.
Yeah, we'll put it out, we'll put it out,
but it's one crazy signing and the other
one I think is gonna help the team a lot.
And we have two girls that, one
did an amazing season, uh, in World
Padel Tour, and the other one Uh,
just basically finish her career.
I don't know if you can
take the shots around there.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The hints there, yeah.
Um, okay, so let's talk about that.
I mean, where does that put
the, the North American players?
I mean, you were getting
all these stars, right?
So last year we saw a
lot of players, right?
North American players.
Yeah.
You know, not too many national players.
We're starting to see
that change now, right?
Yeah.
We're seeing more national
players, international players.
And more international, yeah.
Right, right.
Uh, where does that leave
that North American player?
I mean, at the beginning, we knew
it was going to happen, why we
needed the level to be better.
But it's also better for us,
bringing that level here to the U.
S.
is actually going to push us first, uh,
as Marcos was saying before, first we're
going to be training with them, we're
going to be experiencing the way that they
play, the different pace that they play.
Nico and I, we've been fortunate
enough that we've been traveling,
we played one in New York.
Uh, we, we've seen that
it's another level.
It's not that we're too far
away from it, but we are.
Far ahead that in the day to day
being at that level every single day.
But if the North American player
can't be on the team and play
with 'em, then they can't compete.
You know, if they're taking their
spots, you know, and I understand, you
know, the ones that are there, they
have to push themselves, which will
bring up that level without a doubt.
That's, that's the goal.
Goal.
That's why I think this year
maybe we gonna get a little bit
less playing time, even though I
think I'm gonna be playing a lot.
Hopefully a lot, but I'm gonna be playing.
I think Niko's also going to be playing
a lot, the other ones I don't know,
just those two that I'm really close
to, uh, but not only that, I really
think that, uh, the competitive is
going to, it's going to allow the North
American players to push themselves
to see that if you don't train, you're
not going to get the opportunity.
And I would also add that, uh, I
don't know if Marcos mentioned it,
but the format is going to change.
There's going to be changes
in the middle of the matches.
It's going to be substitutions.
Can you talk about that?
Substitutions.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I just don't know that.
I don't know how many or how it's going
to work or when can you do them, but
I know that I think everybody should
get a chance to play if the team allows
it or they're going for the kill.
They're going for the win.
The win.
Yeah.
The best play.
Yeah.
That's usually the best play.
So we'll see.
We'll see what happens.
Okay.
So let's go back a little bit to
North American leagues like the USPA.
You're number one, right?
Yeah.
USTA, this U-S-P-A-U-S-P-A,
that's it, right?
Uh, you're number one.
So you had, um, some really great
players, you know, in, in, in there.
And now how close are you guys to, we,
we've been calling it a Glasgow, you and
Nico versus, uh, Peter and Alba, right?
I mean, that's kind of like,
we like to see that, right?
Yeah.
It's a great match.
How close are you closing that gap from,
let's say a year or two years ago to now?
I would say, uh, yeah, a year and a half
ago, I think the first meeting that we had
against them was in August in San Diego.
We got destroyed.
It was destruction.
You can put a boom.
It was, I think we got a
bagel in about 15 minutes.
Wow.
6 0 and then we lost, I think it was 6 4.
And that was a year and a half ago.
And now, the last three
meetings, the last two meetings
I think this year, two majors.
Uh, no, three.
San Diego, Texas, and San Diego again.
Um, all three matches
have been in three sets.
In the first one, uh, we had it,
we didn't know how to close it.
The second one, we kind of choked,
basically, I think it was more
me, I missed a couple easy shots.
And in this one, we had it.
This one, I think, has
been the closest one.
I don't think we choked.
I think, uh, Jacobo and Peter
brought their A game at the end.
So, we were up 3 0, two breaks.
In the third up, we had it.
I think this is the time that we had it.
We said like, okay, finally.
You feel like you're closing that gap.
No, we're closing that gap.
And they know it.
We love competing against them.
They're great friends.
We compete inside the court, but
outside the court we're great friends.
And that's how we want to
keep things here in the US.
I think the audience
loves to see that match.
It's such a great match.
We love it.
We love it.
The new generation here.
Exactly.
Oh my God.
Okay.
So we look forward to that in 2024.
Yeah.
Hopefully we get more of that.
And I assume Niko's going
to be a part of this.
Yeah.
We're going to keep playing together.
Yeah.
All right.
So let's talk about your sponsorships.
Uh, and you're an ambassador, right?
Yeah.
Uh, so what club are you ambassador to?
I'm ambassador of Padel
House in New York.
They've been really
supportive to Niko and me.
They've been helping us, uh, travel,
doing exhibitions at Padel House.
We got the chance.
I think, uh, I still think about it.
And, uh, I I think about the
fact that we play with two number
ones, with Juan Martin Diaz and
Seba Nerone in an exhibition.
It's, I mean, I go speechless
every time I think about it.
To play in New York, at Domino,
with the skyline behind us, with
the Williamsburg Bridge behind us.
I mean, it was It's insane.
And we couldn't be more thankful to
Padel House and to Santi, to Jordi,
to Pablo, to all the Padel House team.
We're grateful for that.
It's your hard work and timing.
Yeah.
And timing, yeah, yeah.
That's what it is.
No, and the great connections.
I mean, we always got to stay
humble, stay open to opportunities.
We all got to work together.
There's no taking away from anything.
There's a lot for everybody.
So what are your responsibilities
as an ambassador?
As an ambassador of FIRST,
we gotta represent the brand.
Uh, we gotta make sure that we
are, uh, good athletes, that
we are, uh, leading by example.
We're not just, uh, making a
show when we're playing, we're
screaming, we're hitting the glass.
We are, uh, I think
that's, that's a FIRST.
And then outside the court, uh, being
respectful to everybody, uh, Uh, I think,
I think when Nico and I, we cover those,
those things completely, we, I don't
think we're never going to offend anybody.
And if we do, maybe we were joking
and maybe you took it the wrong way,
but I don't think we're ever going
to be disrespectful to anybody.
All right.
Are there other sponsors
that you, you may have?
We have Adidas, uh, uh, they've
been also supporting us.
We love Adidas.
I think this year we're also going
to, I think we're going to renew.
If everything keeps going well, so
we're going to keep going with Adidas.
And we really believe in building
relationships and going a long way.
So, I think Adidas trusts, I mean,
trusts me since the beginning.
Nico's been, I brought him in last
year, at the beginning of last year.
And we just want to go, we want to keep
building those long stable relationships.
So what do they, um, what do they offer?
Just equipment and supplies
and maybe travel or?
They're helping us.
They're helping us and they believe in us.
So they really want to push us
to be the leaders here in the U.
S.
Awesome.
Yeah, I see that.
I see that.
Um, okay.
The question I ask a lot of people,
um, players especially is, uh, Can
you make a living out of playing
Padel and what needs to happen and
when do you think that will happen?
Right now, Nico and I can tell you,
for us it cannot happen right now.
Just playing Padel full
time, it cannot happen.
We're still teaching, Nico's
teaching Padel in Dallas, I'm
teaching tennis here when I'm back.
Uh, I think it's going to happen soon.
I think it's going to happen really soon.
We are training and positioning
ourselves so that when that happens We
can be, not the first one, but one of
the first ones that can say, Okay, I
can dedicate a hundred percent of my
time to train, and travel, and playing,
I mean, food and everything, so.
What do you think needs to happen?
Uh, we need more, more bands, more
bands trusting the sport, getting to
know the sport, getting more exposure.
PPO is the first example, and the
best thing could happen to the US.
We need, we need, basically we
need prize money tournaments,
we need sponsors behind us.
And it's not because we want cash
just so we can put it in our pocket.
No, we need cash so we can
actually invest it in ourselves.
So we can actually train, we can
travel, we can So you can make it a job.
Exactly.
You know, because that's what
you want to do for a living.
Okay, I hope that happens soon.
I mean, you know, I see a lot
of potential in this sport.
And I see great players and it's tough
because they have to Coach or they have
doing something else and they can't
focus everything on Padel strengthening
and everything that they have to do.
Yeah.
You know, and that that hinders
them from, you know, getting better.
Getting better.
Yeah.
No, it still happens to us.
Even though Nico and I were Nico's
training at 6:00 AM I dunno how
he does it, but he does it at
6:00 AM three times per week.
He's in the fitness room doing it.
I cannot do it at 6:00 AM Nico.
Right.
But I'll do it later.
Yeah.
I go with Diego that, uh, I think you're
gonna be, he's gonna be here later.
But we have to find a way to make it work.
So if you don't find a way to make
it work and push yourself, if you
get in a comfortable situation where
you're just relaxing, you say like,
Well, I can just stay teaching.
I play a couple of tournaments.
And then when you try to go and compete,
you're like, Ah, I could be at that
level, but I just need to train.
And I can tell you, if you don't
get out of that comfort zone,
you're never going to train.
Well, I think that's the problem.
I mean, if you can't do it
full time, you can't get there.
It's kind of hard when you have
to work all day and you come
back and you're a little tired.
You know what I'm saying?
Exactly.
That's when you got to go full time.
But that's where, right now, I'm telling
you, it's not going to happen yet.
That's where you got to sacrifice.
Maybe you stop teaching two or three
hours, you're losing a little bit of
money, but basically that time and money
you're investing in yourself, in what?
In training and getting in shape,
getting ready for those tournaments so
you actually succeed when that happens.
So, okay.
Um, what are your goals in 2024?
Uh, I assume you want to keep
the number one spot, right?
Well, I think that's our first goal
here, but, uh, for myself and for Nico,
I think for sure that thing is keeping
the number one, but also we want to
travel more internationally this year.
We know that, uh, our biggest rivals here
in the U S is Peter and Jacobo for sure,
a classical, uh, but we know that we got
to go outside and we got to go outside.
Uh, we got to play a higher level.
And so you're talking about Spain.
It's yeah, Europe, Mexico, South America.
Yeah, for sure.
So let's talk a little bit about a one.
We talked about it before, but let's
get more into detail, you know, the
experience and the level and you know,
all of that now, I mean, it was insane.
It was, I think one of the best
experiences again in New York, the fact
that we were playing in Central Park,
a Walmart ring, not even in tennis.
I would have ever thought
that I would play there.
And just playing there
with the skyline behind us.
I would tell you it's a dream come true.
When we were telling everybody,
they were like, What?
In Central Park?
But where are you going to play?
Yeah, the World Marine League.
And we're like, What?
What?
I mean, that's insane.
One of a lifetime opportunity.
We're grateful that they, Padre
House, basically gave us the wild
card to it because they were the,
The hosting facility for the players,
uh, they made the deal and Palo House
also giving us that opportunity,
which we took advantage of it.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I mean, that's, I mean,
that's, that's, that's amazing.
Yeah, I mean, I'm telling you, I cannot
even put into words winning a round
in a Grandmaster of A1, even though
we know it's not Premier Palo, but
the tour is still kind of a big thing.
I can tell you the players there, they
were like, oh no, they're going to lose.
Well, you made it through
the first round, right?
And we won the first round.
Everybody thought, I mean, everybody
there in the tournament was talking.
They thought we didn't speak Spanish.
I did.
They were saying, oh no,
they're going to lose quick.
Right now, boom.
And then after we win,
everybody was in shock.
I was hoping, hoping you make
the finals against Toledo.
Oh, man.
That would have been amazing.
That would have been amazing.
You like Toledo?
Oh, who doesn't like Toledo, man?
Come on.
The guy's entertaining,
you know what I'm saying?
Yeah, yeah.
And he's an awesome player.
He's an awesome player.
He's a showman.
He is a showman.
Yeah, yeah.
So, what do you think about A1?
Do you think there'll be other
opportunities like that, uh, with
you and Nico, and other, you know,
um, tournaments, even if you have
to go out of, out of this country?
Yeah, I mean, we need to.
We have to go.
Like you talked about going to Europe
or Mexico, what are you thinking?
We're open to everything,
basically, whatever we can get in.
We get the opportunity that the
scale works with the USPA or the PPL.
We're just open to going anywhere.
Also, we're looking, of course,
to get more sponsors to travel.
Because last year, even though we
were getting a little bit of help,
we were putting money out of pocket.
We were investing in ourselves and going.
Getting the exposure, getting the level.
Uh, I think we just want to play FIP.
I think that was, that
would be the fair FIP.
Uh, a one, if he happens here
close in Mexico, maybe we go
because we have the points.
Maybe we can play a quality and try to
qualify But I think our main goal will be
Fib or a1 actually we're open to anything
or premiere who knows if we get a walker
to a quali or yeah That'll be great.
Who knows?
Thank you lucito for coming to Padel
smash academy and I wish you all the
luck in 2024 And I want to say bye to
all the Padel smash academy family I
hope you have a great year and that you
keep watching the content from sesc and
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