Pablo José Lima

Pablo Lima
Personal information
Full namePablo José Mongelo Lima
NicknameEl cañón de Porto Alegre
Born (1986-10-11) October 11, 1986
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
CountryBrazil Brazil
Sportpádel
Positiondrive
Turned pro
2004
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking
1st (2015, 2016, 2017)

Pablo José Mongelo Lima (born 11 October 1986), more known as Pablo Lima, is a Brazilian former professional padel player. He considered the best player in his country's history in the sport. Alongside his former partner Juani Mieres, he managed to challenge the best pair in the history of professional padel, Fernando Belasteguín and Juan Martín Díaz. After that pair split in 2015, Lima teamed with Belasteguín, becoming the undisputed kings of the circuit until losing the number 1 ranking in 2018.

Career

First years

Lima began his padel career at the age of 9 with his father at the Hormiga Club in his hometown of Porto Alegre. He frequently represented his country's junior team and achieved a remarkable record, starting in 2004, that allowed him to enter the Spanish padel circuit under the guidance of Roby Gattiker, who was impressed by his playing style and dedication and convinced him to become his partner during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

2008–2014

He began his role as a "revelation" player by forming a team with his compatriot Marcello Jardim, reaching the quarterfinals 14 times and the semifinals 4 times despite an ankle injury that caused him great discomfort in developing the padel he would have liked. From that year onwards, so fruitful in sporting achievements, he formed the legendary pair of "Princes" alongside Juani Mieres, winning many titles such as Madrid, Logroño, Salamanca and Seville Open's, and also reaching finals in Almería, Madrid, San Sebastián and Barcelona. He then teamed up with Juani Mieres, with whom he became the second best pair on the circuit and regullary facing the kings of the circuit, the Argentinians Fernando Belasteguín and Juan Martín Díaz.

Partnership with Fernando Belasteguín

2015

Fernando Belasteguín, who along with Lima, was number one ranked for three years

Following the separation with Juan Martin Díaz, 13-time world number one Fernando Belasteguín invited Lima to become his new partener. Lima accepted the offer, ending his six-year partnership with Juani Mieres. Mieres subsequently partnered with Juan Martín Díaz.[1] Belasteguín and Lima began the season in the Barcelona Open, reaching the semifinals, but were forced to withdraw due to an injury sustained by Lima.[2] While Lima recovered, Belasteguín competed in the next two tournaments with Willy Lahoz, winning both.[3] With Lima's return, thy won their first title together in the Río Gallegos Open, beating Maxi Sánchez and Sanyo Gutiérrez in the final. After this win, they began a dominant run, winning the next five Open tournaments in Valladolid, Mallorca, Málaga, La Nucía, and Monte Carlo.

In the Mallorca, Málaga, and La Nucía finals, they defeated Sánchez and Belasteguín's former partner, Juan Martín Díaz.[4][5] Their winning streak ended in the Madrid Open, where they were eliminated in the first round via walkover, due to a Belasteguín injury.[6] They returned to competition winning five consecutive Open's, in Seville, A Coruña, Dubai, Euskadi, and Valencia. They finished the season in the Madrid Master Final, where they were forced to withdraw in the semifinals against Díaz and Sánchez, due to a Lima injury.[7] Belasteguín finished the season as the ranked No. 1, having won 13 out of 16 tournaments, with all three defeats coming from injury withdraws.

2016

Lima and Bela began the new season winning the Gijón Open.[8] During the Valencia Master, Belasteguín and Lima were eliminated in the semifinals by Paquito Navarro and Sanyo Gutiérrez, their main rivals during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.[9] They responded winning the Barcelona Master, and the Las Rozas de Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Valladolid, and Las Palmas Open's. In three of these five finals, they defeated Paquito and Sanyo. The winning streak ended in the La Nucía Open, where they were forced to withdraw from the final.[10]

Belasteguín and Lima won the next four tournament finals, with three of them being against Paquito and Sanyo. Despite not competing in the Mendoza Open due to a Belasteguín injury, they won the Buenos Aires Master and the San Sebastián Open, defeating Navarro and Gutiérrez in both finals. They concluded the season reaching the semifinals of the Master Final.[11] With 12 out of 16 tournaments won, with Pablo Lima, Belasteguín reached 15 consecutive years as the world No. 1 ranked, for which he was presented with a commemorative plaque by the World Padel Tour.

2017

The 2017 season with Belasteguín and Lima losing two consecutive finals to Paquito Navarro and Sanyo Gutiérrez.[12] They responded winning the Barcelona Master and the A Coruña Open, but were forced to withdraw from the final of the Valladolid Open due to a Belasteguín injury, which gave Navarro and Gutiérrez their third title of the season.[13] With Belasteguín injured, they missed the one more tournament, the Mijas Open, and returned to competition in the Gran Canaria Open, exiting in the quarterfinals. In the Alicante Open, Belasteguín and Lima reached the final, and avenged their defeats, beating Paquito and Sanyo to win the tournament.[14]

At the Seville Open, the two teams faced off once again in the final. Before the final, each team had reached six finals and won three titles during the season. Navarro and Gutiérrez won the match, with Navarro lifting the trophy in his hometown. Belasteguín and Lima avenged the loss, defeating them in the Portugal Master final.[15] They faced each other again in the Andorra Open final, losing it and now having one less title than Paquito and Sanyo. After beating Navarro and Gutiérrez in the Granada Open final, both teams were tied with ten finals contested and five titles each.[16]

With four tournaments remaining, Belasteguín and Lima won the Zaragoza Open, defeating the third-ranked pair of Matías Díaz and Maxi Sánchez. They followed it, winning the Buenos Aires Master, beating Navarro and Gutiérrez in the final and extending their advantage in the No. 1 Ranking race.[17] Despite losing the Bilbao Open, reaching the final secured them the No. 1 Ranking. At the Master Final, Belasteguín and Lima avenged the previous loss to Díaz and Sánchez in the finals of the tournament, closing the season with eight out of sixteen tournaments won.[18]

Injuries and final seasons with Belasteguín

2018

Belasteguín and Lima had a difficult start of the season, in the dispute to retain No.1 Ranking for a fourth consecutive year. They started the season being unexpectedly eliminated in the semifinals of the Catalonia Master, by Juan Lebrón and Juan Belluati.[19] Despite winning the Alicante Open, they failed to win any of the next three tournaments. They didn't compete in the Zaragoza Open, were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Jaén Open, and exited in the round of 16 at the Valladolid Open.[20]

These results allowed Sanyo Gutiérrez and Maxi Sánchez, who had won three of the first five tournaments, threatening the No. 1 position that Lima had since 2015. Belasteguín and Lima responded winning the Valencia Master, which allowed to distance themself in the Ranking race,[21] and winning the Båstad Open, defeating Juan Martín Díaz and Paquito Navarro in the final.[22] During the Mijas Open, Belasteguín suffered a severe elbow injury that forced the team to withdraw from the quarter-finals. Halfway through the season, they remained ranked No. 1, though Gutiérrez and Sánchez had reached six finals and won four titles compared to Belasteguín and Lima's three finals and two titles.[23]

The injury Belasteguín sustained in Mijas, sidelined him for several months, forcing him to miss the Andorra and Lugo Open's, the Portugal Master, the Granada Open and Euskadi Open's, the Argentina Master, and the Murcia Open. During this period while Belasteguín recovered, Lima temporarily held the No. 1 Ranking alone,[24] competing with Agustín Gómez Silingo and Paquito Navarro and winning the Bilbao Open and reaching the final of the Murcia Open with the latter.[25][26] But after Gutiérrez and Sánchez won the Portugal Master, Sánchez assumed the No. 1 Ranking, a position which he and Sanyo would retained for the rest of the season, ending the Brazilian-Argentine 3-year reign as the world number one ranked team.

After a four-month absence, Belasteguín returned in the final tournament of the season, the 2018 Madrid Master Final,[27] reuniting with Lima. They reached the final, and defeated the new No. 1 ranked team, Sanyo and Maxi (7–6, 6–3).[28]

2019

Bela and Lima in a match with Paquito and Lebrón.

In 2019, Belasteguín and Lima continued competing together, aiming to reclaim the No. 1 Ranking. They began the season with two semifinal losses, in the Marbella Master and the Logroño Open, losing on both occasions to Juan Lebrón and Paquito Navarro. They reached the final of the Alicante Open, but again lost to Lebrón and Paquito.[29] They reached two more semifinals, in the Vigo and Jaén Open's, again losing to Lebrón and Navarro. Due to these results, Belasteguín opted to end the partnership, with both players agreeing to complete together at the Buenos Aires Master, Valladolid Master, and Båstad Open, before breaking up.[30] At the Buenos Aires Master, they reached the final, where they faced Alejandro Galán and Juani Mieres. However, they were forced to withdraw in the first set, with a 5–5 score, due to injury.[31]

Belasteguín and Lima concluded their partnership with three consecutive seasons as the top-ranked team. They played 44 finals and won 35 titles together.[32]

Partnership with Alejandro Galán

Alejandro Galán, who Lima played with in second half of the 2019 World Padel Tour season.

After the separation, Lima choose Alejandro Galán as his new partner,[33] They debuted in the Valencia Open, reaching the final and winning the tournament.[34] They also won the next tournament, the Mijas Open.[35] Their first loss came against in the Madrid Master quarter-finals, but they bounced back winning the Portugal Master, their third tournament title in four disputed.[36] In the last four tournaments they're best result were two semi-finals, in the São Paulo Open, in Lima's home country, and in Mexico. In the Master Finals, World Padel Tour end of season tournament, they defeated Augustín Tapia and Fernando Belasteguín in the final, winning their fourth tournament of the season.[37]

Despite winning four of the nine tournaments they played together, Galán and Lima opted to part ways, with Lima becoming Paquito Navarro's new sporting partner.[38]

2020

Paquito Navarro, who Lima played with in 2020.

In the first and only tournament of the season before the COVID-19 break, the Marbella Master, Lima and Paquito defeated Alejandro Galán and Juan Lebrón in the final.[39] Three months after the shutdown, they returned to competition reaching the final of the Estrella Damm Open, in a rematch with Galán and Lebrón, losing in two sets. In the next six tournaments, the Spanish-Brazilian pair reached four semi-finals but were unable to progress in any of them. In the tenth tournament of the season, the Las Rozas Open, Lima and Paquito reached their third final of the season but do to a Lima injury they had to forfeit the last match.[40] The injury obtained in Las Rozas also forced Lima to miss the Master Finals.[41]

2021

Agustín Tapia played together with Lima in 2021.

In 2021 due to the disappointing results of the previous season, Lima and Paquito opted to split as team,[42] with Agustín Tapia chosen as his next partner.[43] Despiste reaching two semi-finals in their first four tournaments together, the duo wasn't able to reach a final until the fifth tournament of the season, the Marbella Master where they we're supposed to face Alejandro Galán and Juan Lebrón but had to forfeti due to an injury.[44] Two early exits in the next two tournaments were followed by a title win in the Las Rozas Open , where the Brazilian-Argentinian duo defeated the number one reanked team, Galán and Lebrón, in the semi-finals and the number two ranked Belasteguín and Gutiérrez in the final.[45] In the following tournament, the Málaga Open, they reached another final defeating the third ranked pair, Martin Di Nenno and Paquito Navarro.[46]

After the summer break, they returned in the Cascais Master, but weren't able to progress past the quarter-finals. After reaching two quarter-finals and semi-final in the following three tournaments, Lima and Tapia decided to part ways.[47] As a replacement, Lima choose Javi Ruiz as his partner for the rest of the season.[48] In the remaining five tournaments of the season, they reached the semi-finals only twice, gaining enough points to qualify for the Master Finals. In the last tournament of the season, now playing with the Momo González, Lima reached the quarter-finals finishing the season 12th in the ranking.

2022

Franco Stupaczuk played with Lima for most of 2022.

In 2022, Lima joined forces with former numer one ranked Maxi Sanchéz, starting the year as the sixth ranked team.[49] After being eliminated in the quarter-finals of four consecutive World Padel Tour tournaments, and being eliminated in the round of 16 of Premier Padel's first tournament the Qatar Major, the duo opted to part ways, with Lima choosing Franco Stupaczuk as his next partner.[50]

In their first tournament together they reached the final of the Brussels Open, but were defeated by the number one ranked Galán and Lebrón.[51] In the following four tournaments they only reached one semi-final, but in the ninth tournament of the WPT season, the French Open, after defeating the second ranked team of Martin Di Nenno and Paquito Navarro in the semi-finals, they avenged their previous loss against Galán and Lebrón to claim their first of the season.[52]

They followed their tournament win with two quarter-finals exit, before reaching the final of the Málaga Open where they weren't able to defeat Agustín Tapia and Sanyo Gutiérrez.[53] In the WPT summer break they competed in the Madrid P1 and in the Argentina P1, reaching the semi-finals in the first and winning the latter.[54]

The Brazilian-Argentinian duo returned to WPT competition in the Portugal Open where they lost in the quarter-finals, a result they repeated in the next two tournaments. In the last tournament of September, the Amsterdam Open, Lima and Stupaczuk defeated Galán and Lebrón in the semi-finals but were defeated by Arturo Coello and Fernando Belasteguín in the final.[55] Despite four consecutive quarter-final losses in WPT tournaments they were able to reach the final of the NewGiza P1, defeating Galán and Lebrón to claim their second title in Premier Padel.[56]

After two round of 16 exits in the last two Premier Padel tournaments of the season, they competed in the Mexico Open, the last tournament of the WPT regular season, losing to Juan Tello and Paquito Navarro in the finals.[57]

In the last tournament of the year, the Barcelona Master Final they weren't able to progress past the quarter-finals, where they lost to Galán and Lebrón. After the tournament Lima and Stupaczuk announced that they would part their ways, having competed as a team in twenty four tournaments, reaching seven finals and winning four titles.[58]

2023

In his final season Lima wasn't able reach any semi-final in Premier Padel or World Padel Tour tournaments, missing most of the tournaments in the second half of the season due to injury. He played his last tournament in the Madrid Master, losing in the first round against Galán and Lebrón.[59][60]

Lima ended his career having played in one hundred and thirty finals on the main padel circuits, winning sixty-seven and being the world number one for three years.[61]

Honours

Padel Pro Tour (2006–2012)

  Win   Loss

Finals

World Padel Tour (2013–2023)

  Win   Loss

Finals

Premier Padel

  Win   Loss

Finals

N.º Year Tournament Category Partner Opponents Result Career Title No.
129. 14 August 2022 Argentina Mendoza P1 Argentina Franco Stupaczuk Spain Arturo Coello
Argentina Fernando Belasteguín
6–2 / 4–6 / 7–6 66th
130. 30 October 2022 Egypt Giza P1 Argentina Franco Stupaczuk Spain Alejandro Galán
Spain Juan Lebrón
2–6 / 7–6 / 7–6 67th

Teammates

Pablo Lima has played with 15 different teammates and has won titles with most of them.

References

  1. ↑ "Lima y Belasteguin, una nueva 'gran potencia'". Marca.com. Marca.
  2. ↑ "Barcelona 2015". Padel Network.
  3. ↑ "Todos rendidos ante Belasteguín y Lahoz". elconfidencial.com. El Confidencial.
  4. ↑ "Mallorca 2015". Padel Network.
  5. ↑ "Monte Carlo 2015". Padel Network.
  6. ↑ "Madrid 2015". Padel Network.
  7. ↑ "Bela y Lima pierden un partido casi diez meses después en el Master Final". elconfidencial.com. El Confidencial.
  8. ↑ "Gijón 2016". Padel Network.
  9. ↑ "Paquito Navarro y Sanyo Gutiérrez dan la campanada en Valencia ante Bela y Lima". elconfidencial.com. El Confidencial.
  10. ↑ "La Nucia 2016". Padel Network.
  11. ↑ "Master Final 2016". Padel Network.
  12. ↑ "Así fue la espectacular final del Miami Masters del World Padel Tour". elconfidencial.com. El Confidencial.
  13. ↑ "Valladolid 2017". Padel Network.
  14. ↑ "Bela y Pablo Lima padel alicante open final". elconfidencial.com. El Confidencial.
  15. ↑ "Fernando Belasteguin e Pablo Lima vencem o Portugal Padel Masters". Record.com. Record.
  16. ↑ "Campeones clásicos y campeonas nuevas en el Granada Open de pádel". elconfidencial.com. El Confidencial.
  17. ↑ "Belasteguín y Lima no tienen rival y conquistan también Buenos Aires". elconfidencial.com. El Confidencial.
  18. ↑ "Bela y Lima ganan el Master Final 2017". Marca.
  19. ↑ "Catalunya 2018". Padel Network.
  20. ↑ "Valladolid 2018". Padel Network.
  21. ↑ "Bela y Lima retienen el número 1 del World Padel Tour con una exhibición". El Confidencial.
  22. ↑ "Bastad 2018". Padel Network.
  23. ↑ "Belasteguín vuelve a las pistas en el Master Final del World Pádel Tour". Marca.
  24. ↑ "Belasteguín deja de ser el número uno del pádel mundial". padelagogo.com.
  25. ↑ "Bilbao 2018". Padel Network.
  26. ↑ "Murcia 2018". Padel Network.
  27. ↑ "Belasteguín vuelve a las pistas en el Master Final del World Pádel Tour". Marca.
  28. ↑ "Bela y Lima se regalan el regreso soñado a costa de los números 1". Marca.
  29. ↑ "Paquito y Lebrón ganan a Bela y Lima en la final de Alicante". El Mundo.
  30. ↑ "Fernando Belasteguin anuncia su ruptura con Pablo Lima". Sport.
  31. ↑ "Una lesión de Fernando Belasteguín corona a Galán y Mieres en Buenos Aires". El Mundo.
  32. ↑ "Fernando Belasteguín, nuevo MARCA Leyenda". Marca.
  33. ↑ "Ale Galán y Pablo Lima formarán una pareja explosiva desde el Valencia Open". padeladdict.com.
  34. ↑ "Galán y Lima se coronan en Valencia tras resistir el dictado magistral de dos ilustres que se reivindican".
  35. ↑ "El segundo título de Ale Galán y Pablo Lima pone fin a la epopeya de dos soñadores en el Mijas Open 2019".
  36. ↑ "Brasileiros e espanhóis vencem Padel em Cascais". O Observador.
  37. ↑ "El equipo Adeslas hace pleno en el Master Final". Marca.
  38. ↑ "Una dupla temible: Paquito Navarro jugará con Pablo Lima". World Padel Tour.
  39. ↑ "Lima y Navarro ganan una tremenda final en el Marbella Master". Marca.
  40. ↑ "LAS ROZAS: Fede Chingotto y Juan Tello se estrenaron en Las Rozas". Soy de Madrid.
  41. ↑ "Pablo Lima se pierde el Master Final de Menorca, que ya tiene sus 16 aspirantes a 'maestros'". Marca.
  42. ↑ "Continúa el 'baile' de parejas en World Padel Tour: Sanyo-Stupa y Navarro-Lima se separan". Marca.
  43. ↑ "Agustín Tapia y Pablo Lima, nueva pareja para 2021". Marca.
  44. ↑ "Lima y Tapia llegan en el Marbella Master a su primera final". Marca.
  45. ↑ "Lima y Tapia destrozan la final a base de pólvora y pegada". Padel Spain.
  46. ↑ "Lima y Tapia siguen de dulce y suman el segundo consecutivo en Málaga". Marca.
  47. ↑ "Triste punto final y despedida para Sanyo-Bela y Lima-Tapia". AS.
  48. ↑ "Javi Ruiz y Pablo Lima, listos para la batalla del tramo final del año". World Padel Tour.
  49. ↑ "Pablo Lima y Maxi Sánchez, pareja de números 1 para 2022". Marca.
  50. ↑ "Stupa - Lima, nueva 'súper pareja'". Mundo Deportivo.
  51. ↑ "Ale Galán y Juan Lebrón no dan opciones y conquistan Bruselas". Marca.
  52. ↑ "Stupaczuk y Lima derrotan a los número 1 del mundo en la final de Francia". Marca.
  53. ↑ "¡Un cumpleaños especial! Tapia celebra junto a Sanyo un nuevo título en World Padel Tour".
  54. ↑ "Mendoza 2022". Padel FIP.
  55. ↑ "Bela y Coello se suben a la ola buena y ganan también en Amsterdam". Marca.
  56. ↑ "Guiza 2022". Padel FIP.
  57. ↑ "Paquito y Tello levantan a Mexico". worldpadeltour.com (in Spanish).
  58. ↑ "Franco Stupaczuk y Pablo Lima cierran su etapa juntos con tres títulos".
  59. ↑ "Pablo Lima adelanta su retirada: "En septiembre en Madrid será mi último torneo"". Marca.
  60. ↑ "El Madrid Máster abre la caja de las despedidas". Mundo Deportivo.
  61. ↑ "Pablo Lima recibe el homenaje del World Pádel Tour en su adiós a las pistas". Marca.
  62. ↑ "Argentina 2015". Padel Network.
  63. ↑ "Valladolid 2015". Padel Network.
  64. ↑ "Mallorca 2015". Padel Network.
  65. ↑ "Malaga 2015". Padel Network.
  66. ↑ "La Nucia 2015". Padel Network.
  67. ↑ "Monaco 2015". Padel Network.
  68. ↑ "Sevilla 2015". Padel Network.
  69. ↑ "Galicia 2015". Padel Network.
  70. ↑ "Dubai 2015". Padel Network.
  71. ↑ "San Sebastian 2015". Padel Network.
  72. ↑ "Valencia 2015". Padel Network.
  73. ↑ "Gijon 2016". Padel Network.
  74. ↑ "Barcelona 2016". Padel Network.
  75. ↑ "Las Rozas 2016". Padel Network.
  76. ↑ "Mallorca 2016". Padel Network.
  77. ↑ "Valladolid 2016". Padel Network.
  78. ↑ "Canarias 2016". Padel Network.
  79. ↑ "La Nucia 2016". Padel Network.
  80. ↑ "Monte Carlo 2016". Padel Network.
  81. ↑ "Sevilla 2016". Padel Network.
  82. ↑ "La Coruna 2016". Padel Network.
  83. ↑ "Zaragoza 2016". Padel Network.
  84. ↑ "Buenos Aires 2016". Padel Network.
  85. ↑ "Euskadi 2016". Padel Network.
  86. ↑ "Santander 2017". Padel Network.
  87. ↑ "Miami 2017". Padel Network.
  88. ↑ "Coruna 2017". Padel Network.
  89. ↑ "Barcelona 2017". Padel Network.
  90. ↑ "Valladolid 2017". Padel Network.
  91. ↑ "Alicante 2017". Padel Network.
  92. ↑ "Seville 2017". Padel Network.
  93. ↑ "Portugal 2017". Padel Network.
  94. ↑ "Andorra 2017". Padel Network.
  95. ↑ "Granada 2017". Padel Network.
  96. ↑ "Zaragoza 2017". Padel Network.
  97. ↑ "Buenos Aires 2017". Padel Network.
  98. ↑ "Bilbao 2017". Padel Network.
  99. ↑ "Master Final 2017". Padel Network.
  100. ↑ "Alicante 2018". Padel Network.
  101. ↑ "Valencia 2018". Padel Network.
  102. ↑ "Bastad 2018". Padel Network.
  103. ↑ "Master Final 2018". Padel Network.
  104. ↑ "Alicante 2019". Padel Network.
  105. ↑ "Buenos Aires 2019". Padel Network.
  106. ↑ "El año de Bela y Lima, los tiranos del pádel". El Confidencial.
  107. ↑ "Lima y Belasteguin, una nueva 'gran potencia'". Marca.com. Marca.
  108. ↑ "Fernando Belasteguin anuncia su ruptura con Pablo Lima". Sport.
  109. ↑ "Ale Galán y Pablo Lima formarán una pareja explosiva desde el Valencia Open". padeladdict.com.
  110. ↑ "Una dupla temible: Paquito Navarro jugará con Pablo Lima". World Padel Tour.
  111. ↑ "Pablo Lima confirma que jugará con Agustín Tapia en 2021". Diario Sport.
  112. ↑ "Javi Ruiz y Pablo Lima, listos para la batalla del tramo final del año". World Padel Tour.
  113. ↑ "Pablo Lima y Maxi Sánchez, pareja de números 1 para 2022". Marca.
  114. ↑ "Stupa - Lima, nueva 'súper pareja'". Mundo Deportivo.
  115. ↑ "Pádel: Pablo Lima elige a Coki Nieto como su nuevo compañero para 2023". Olé.
  116. ↑ "Oficial: Aquí está el nuevo compañero de Pablo Lima — Debutarán en Valencia".