Navarro/Di Nenno: chemistry on display

For the registry office he is Francisco Navarro Compan, but in the world of Padel he goes by Paquito. No need for surnames - a nickname is enough to identify one of the players who symbolizes Padel: thanks to his results - he was the first Spaniard ever to reach no. 1 in the world, interrupting the Argentines’ predominance - as well as his charisma, talent, and ability to get the crowd going, getting them involved in the game.

Since the beginning of 2021 Argentine Martin Di Nenno has been the ideal partner for Paquito. Di Nenno was destined to achieve great things, but struggled for years to show his full potential, due in particular to the bodily and mental injuries he suffered in a terrible car accident in 2016 in hometown Buenos Aires. The two passengers in the car with him (including Padel’s former rising star Elias Estrella) did not make it, while Martin survived and started a long journey to get back on his feet, taking refuge in Padel, one of his reasons to keep on going.

The doctors told him it would be tough to resume playing at a high level, but nine months later he was back in the cage. In 2017 he competed internationally again, he got better and better and at the end of 2020 he received a call from Navarro, who was looking for a new partner with whom to try to win back the no. 1 ranking. This was a brave move, to which he needed time to adjust, but it paid off big time.

In the first year together they did not reach world-no.1 status by a whisker, but if they win at the Foro Italico this week they could make it. It would be their second win in as many Premier Padel events since the start of the season, given their historic title at the beginning of April in Doha during the first Major of the new Padel circuit. No one can ever take away this record from him, and the pair have written a piece of Padel history.

For Navarro/Di Nenno the recipe for success is their chemistry and great relationship in and out of the cage, thanks also to coach Rodrigo Ovide’s help (he coaches women’s Padel pair Gemma Triay and Alejandra Salazar). Before being partners in the cage, Paco and Martin became friends and transferred their friendship over to their sport, becoming one of the crowd’s favourite pairs in the world thanks to their personality and their beautiful and varied Padel technique.

The Seville-born, 33 year old Navarro is explosive, powerful, and highly entertaining. On the other hand his partner, born in 1997, is the typical player with substance, supporting from the right side. He is neither powerful nor flashy and he leaves the showmanship to Paquito, but he's huge when defending and only misses a point every 45 minutes. You can be a Padel sensation even by being this way.