A less linear start to the 2026 season
It’s almost paradoxical: Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia remain the benchmark of world padel, but their start to the 2026 season no longer looks like a steamroller. After kicking off the year with a clean sweep of the title in Riyadh against Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto, 6/4 6/2, the No.1s soon saw the competition respond.
In Gijón, Galán and Chingotto won the final 7/5 7/6, symbolizing a duel that was once again totally credible. In Cancún, Coello and Tapia responded as champions against Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger, but their victory came in three sets, 6/7 6/3 7/5, after conceding the first set. In Miami, Galán and Chingotto came out on top again in the final, 7/5 3/6 6/3, in a match where the leaders’ usual margin seemed less comfortable.
So what happened to Tapia and Coello? Nothing resembling a sporting break-up. They continue to win, reach the finals and defend their position in the FIP rankings. But the padel results tell the story of a less automatic dominance, with more sets hung in there, more scenarios reversed and opponents no longer just waiting for a slump.
Rivals no longer enter with the same complex
This change of tone can also be measured against what Coello and Tapia have represented since their association: endless series, locked finals and that impression, sometimes brutal for the rest of the circuit, that they could win even without producing their best padel. After Riyad, the FIP recalled that they had already won 32 titles together on the Premier Padel tour. It is precisely this benchmark that makes their start to the 2026 season all the more telling.
Galán and Chingotto are no longer content to wait for a window. They set the pace, accept the physical duel and more often succeed in locking Coello out of his comfort zones. Chingotto holds the exchange, Galán accelerates, and the pair now know how to survive opposing hot streaks.
In Brussels, another message came through when Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger won the final, 2/6 6/3 6/3. Beaten soundly in the first set, the Spaniard and Argentine turned the tables with their aggressiveness, smash volume and risk-taking. This profile may well trouble Coello/Tapia: an explosive pair, capable of attacking early on and making every bandeja or vibora more difficult to control.
Less overwhelming dominance, not a crisis
Crisis is not the right word. Coello and Tapia remain an immense pair, driven by the Spanish player’s power, the Argentine’s creativity, their tactics and their net efficiency. But in 2026, the world of padel will be calling for more than just continuity: they need to regain the psychological upper hand in the finals, limit the gaps and rediscover their ability to smother matches from the very first games.
Above all, the start of the season has changed perceptions. The P1s and P2s are no longer just about the dominance of the number 1s; they are also about a circuit where several pairs can win, with opposing styles. For Coello and Tapia, the challenge is clear: stay ahead while their pursuers finally play as if they could knock them off their perch.
Key takeaway
- Coello and Tapia remain number 1, but their start to the 2026 season is less linear.
- Galán/Chingotto beat them in the final in Gijón and Miami.
- Lebrón/Augsburger confirmed in Brussels that other profiles could upset them.
- It’s not about a crisis, it’s about a less overwhelming dominance.
