The image was not pretty. Neither the exchange of words, nor denying the greeting, nor the pats. Nothing. Even less when we talk about two champions who marked an era together and who continue to be two of the great references of world padel. But it is also not advisable to fall into the simplistic analysis of turning a scene of tension into a summary trial of what happened with Juan Lebron and Alejandro Galán in La Fonteta.
Because things that happen on the court usually stay on the court… or should. A hit by a ball, an argument, a challenging look or a few extra words are part of professional sports. Elite athletes live in a state of permanent tension, they compete at an emotional speed that is difficult to imagine from the stands and, many times, they react before thinking. Looking for a culprit in what happened in Valencia would probably be the wrong debate.
It doesn’t seem like a question of good and bad. It seems (and is) something much more complex. Because what became clear again is that something is broken between Alejandro Galán and Juan Lebron. And that something is still broken more than two years after their sporting separation. That is the real news, although there was little doubt.
The striking thing is that time does not seem to have served to reduce anything. Each confrontation between them continues to convey the feeling that there is an unfinished story, a pending conversation or a wound that never healed. And that makes each game more than just a game.
And from here several realities appear. The first: that it is good for us journalists. Not because we enjoy controversy, but because it brings something different. Professional sports live on emotions and rivalries are part of its essence. For decades we have told classics, historical duels, sports feuds and impossible relationships. They generate interest, attract an audience and make people who perhaps were not going to watch a game end up paying attention to it. It would be hypocritical to deny that when Galán and Lebron cross paths, the focus multiplies.
The other reality is that the fan experiences this situation in a much more contradictory way. There is a part that enjoys the emotional component. Of morbidity and “let’s see what happens”. But at the same time there is a certain sadness because we are not talking about two rivals who never shared anything. We are talking about two players who built together one of the most dominant couples in the history of padel. And when the fan sees that the tension is still there, the feeling is often not enthusiasm, but pity, for what was and what could have been. It’s a shame they don’t have answers to so many questions that they probably wouldn’t even know how to answer themselves.
And perhaps also a pity because it happens precisely in a World Cup year, when the question inevitably arises as to whether they will one day be able to live together under the same shield without the past appearing in every photograph.
Does this suit paddle tennis?
But there is a reflection that padel must make after Valencia is that certain images do not help the sport. They don’t help Galan. They don’t help Lebron. And neither do they help the growth of a discipline that aspires to continue conquering new audiences.
Rivalry adds, also competitive tension and even pique, in certain doses. What remains is when the situation approaches disrespect. It doesn’t matter which side it comes from. It doesn’t matter who provokes it first. It doesn’t matter who has more reasons to feel aggrieved. When the story reaches that point, everyone loses a little. That is why it is difficult not to agree with the word that Galán used (who, without judging the reasons why he did it, was the one who denied greeting Lebron) after the game when MARCA started with the question at the press conference that everyone had in their heads: “Embarrassing.”
Not necessarily for a specific action. Not even by a single gesture. But because of the general feeling conveyed by seeing two leaders of the sport unable to leave behind a conflict that seems to haunt them every time they meet on a track. And there appears the great question of whether this favors paddle tennis. The answer is not as simple as it seems.
Because, on the one hand, these rivalries generate conversation, media attention and exposure. In an increasingly competitive entertainment industry, getting everyone talking about your sport has enormous value. But there is also the opposite risk.
That the story ends up revolving more around personal conflicts than around the game. Let the covers talk more about who doesn’t greet whom than about the extraordinary level that both continue to show on the track. Let padel be in the news for the noise and not for the spectacle. And there is the balance that this sport still seeks.
Valencia left an uncomfortable image, yes. But he also left a certainty. The rivalry between Galán and Lebron continues to be the great narrative plot of current padel. Nobody generates more interest. Nobody awakens more emotions. Nobody provokes more debate. The question is whether this represents a strength for the sport or is a pending issue.
Probably not even padel itself has the answer yet.
