Fernando Belasteguín (born 19 May 1979 in Pehuajó, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina), known as Bela, is a former professional Argentine padel player widely regarded as one of the greatest padel players of all time. At the professional level, he holds various records, including the longest period as world No. 1 (16 consecutive years) and the highest number of titles World Padel Tour (WPT) history. During his career, he won 230 titles and appeared in 286 finals. For these achievements, many consider him the greatest padel player of all time. Belasteguín became the youngest world No. 1 in history at age 22. Partnering with Juan Martín Díaz, together they had the most dominant run in the sport history, remaining undefeated for 1 year and 9 months and winning 22 consecutive tournaments between September 2005 and May 2007. The pair also hold the record for the longest period as the world's No. 1 ranked team, topping the rankings for 13 straight seasons (2002–2014) and winning 170 titles together. He is the only padel player to have won 11 Olimpia de Plata awards and is a six-time world champion, with titles in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2014, 2016, and 2022. He also holds the record for the most weeks ranked No. 1 in World Padel Tour history. == Career == === Early Years === Belasteguín began playing padel in 1990, shortly after courts were installed at the facilities of Club Atlético General in his hometown of Pehuajó, Buenos Aires. At the time, he played football for Atlético, but at age 13 he was noticed by the father of professional players Matí Díaz and Godo Díaz. Shoortly after, he began training and competing with them, first partnering with Godo for one year, and teaming with Matías between 1994 and 1998, competing regularly in Buenos Aires. === Transition into professional padel and first partners === Belasteguín made his professional debut in 1995 at the age of 15, partnering with Matías Díaz. After a brief retirement from professional padel, in which he returned to live in Pehuajó, he received an invitation from Roby Gattiker, who alongside Alejandro Lasaigues had dominated the Argentinian circuit in the previous five years. Belasteguín returned to competition to play a series of tournaments with Gattiker in 1999, including a tournament in France where they finished as runners-up and another at Club de Campo in which they reached the semifinals. In September 1999 he played a tour in Spain with Alejandro Sanz, reaching the finals of the Puerto de Santa Maria and Sotogrande tournaments. Belasteguín returned to the Argentine professional circuit partnering with Guillermo Demianiuk, and together established themselves as the second best pair in the country, just behind Gabriel Reca and Sebastián Nerone, who were the No.1 team in the previous two years. Belasteguín and Demianiuk also began competing regularly in tournaments across Spain in 1999, and at the age of 20 years he was recognized as the best player in Argentina. Their international breakthrough came in 2000, when they reached the final of the Madrid International tournament. Despite challenging for the No. 1 position in Argentina, neither he or his partner were selected by the national team coach to compete in the 2000 World Championship. In 2001, he played the whole season alongside Spaniard Pablo Martínez Semprún, one of the most important Spanish players at the time, forming one of the top two pairs in the circuit and reaching various finals against Juan Martín Díaz and Hernán Auguste. Together they won titles in Badajoz, Torre Bellver, Santander, San Sebastián, and Sotogrande. They finished the season ranked second on the circuit, only behind Díaz and Auguste. === Partnership with Juan Martín Díaz === ==== Spanish/International Circuit era ==== ==== 2002 ==== In 2002 he joined forces with the naturalized Spaniard Juan Martín Díaz, who was the No. 1 ranked in both international and Spanish circuits at the time with Auguste. Together they would be ranked as the No. 1 pair for 13 consecutive years, holding the unbeaten record with 1 year and 9 months without losing a match, winning 22 consecutive tournaments between September 2005 and June 2007. In 2002, they first year together, they finished the year as the best duo in the world. They reached the final of each tournament they competed in, losing only three times, one of them against their former partners, Auguste and Semprún. They won the Bilbao, San Sebastián, Altea and Sotogrande Open's, the Torre Bellver and El Puerto de Santa María International's, the Santander Open and the Madrid International's, Barcelona International's, Bilbao II, and Seville International's. With these results, they finished the season as No. 1 on both Spanish and international circuits. They also won the World Doubles Championship, defeating Gaby Reca and Seba Nerone in the final. Belasteguín also competed, and won, the 2002 World Championship with the Argentina national team in Mexico, playing with his former junior partner Matías Díaz. For his achievements, he received the Olimpia de Plata, becoming the first padel player to win the award. ==== 2003 ==== In 2003, Díaz and Belasteguín dominated both national and international circuits, finishing the season as the number one ranked team in both circuits. They won the Melilla, Valladolid, Bilbao, Oropesa del Mar, Marbella, Madrid, and Seville International's, with their main rivals being Gaby Reca and Seba Nerone, once again. One of their few defeats came at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona tournament, where, despite winning the first set and leading 3–1 in the second, they lost to Cristian Gutiérrez and Roby Gattiker. Their results granted another No. 1 finish on both Spanish and International circuits, which earned Belasteguín a second Olimpia de Plata. ==== 2004 ==== In 2004, Belasteguín and Díaz finished the season ranked No. 1 for a third consecutive year. They won the Bilbao, Melilla, Seville, Valladolid and Barcelona International's, the Cantabria Open, the Cádiz, El Puerto de Santa María, Madrid and Seville International's, and the Madrid Masters. Their closest rivals, were once again Reca and Nerone. During the Valladolid tournament, hours before the quarter-finals, Díaz and Belasteguín traveled to Madrid for the birth of Díaz son, but returned in time for their match. After the end of the Spanish and International circuitis, Belasteguín and Díaz were crowned World Doubles champions for the second time, in Buenos Aires, defeating Reca and Nerone in the final. Belasteguín also won the 2004 World Championship, representing Argentina and teaming with Mariano Lasaigues in the final, where they won their match against Díaz and Raúl Arias without difficulty. ==== 2005 ==== In 2005, Díaz and Belasteguín won eleven of the fourteen circuit tournaments, winning the Barcelona International, the Bilbao Open, the Valencia, Lisbon and Córdoba International's, the Madrid Masters, the Higuerón and Torre Bellver International's, the Islas Baleares Masters, and the Badajoz and Bilbao International's. After a semifinal loss at the Madrid International in September, against Cristian Gutiérrez and Hernán Auguste, they began an unbeaten streak that lasted 1 year and 9 months, during which they won 22 consecutive titles. === Padel Pro Tour years === ==== 2006 ==== In 2006, they completed a perfect season, winning all 17 tournaments in the inaugural edition of the Padel Pro Tour (PPT), the first organized international professional padel circuit. Their closest rivals, Reca and Nerone, remained well behind. Due to disputes between the PPT, the Spanish Padel Federation, and FIP, Bela didn't participate in the World Doubles Championship that year, but did play in the 2006 World Championship, where Argentina was crowned champion again, with Bela winning its match in the final partnering Mariano Lasaigues. ==== 2007 ==== In 2007, Belasteguín and Díaz won the Córdoba, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Vitoria, Madrid II, Oropesa del Mar, Salamanca, Fuengirola, Cádiz, Palma de Mallorca, Mérida, San Sebastián, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Las Palmas, and Alicante International's, and the Madrid Masters. Their unbeaten streak came to an end in the fourth tournament of the season, in Valladolid, where they were defeated by Cristian Gutiérrez and Seba Nerone. During the season, they suffered only two more losses, both in semifinals against Auguste and Reca, in Seville and Logroño. ==== 2008 ==== In 2008, they extended their dominance, winning the Ciudad Real, Granada, Santander, Barcelona, Majadahonda, Logroño, Vitoria, Comunidad de Madrid, Marbella, Fuengirola, Benicasim, Mallorca, Mérida, San Sebastián, Zaragoza, and Bilbao International's. The Fuengirola tournament win marked their 100th title won as team, won in the same venue where they first competed together. Despite a surprising elimination in the group stage at the Madrid Masters, they finished the season as the number one ranked team for a seventh consecutive year. Belasteguín didn't compete in the 2008 World Championship nor the World Doubles Championship held in Calgary. ==== 2009 ==== The 2009 season began with two consecutive semifinal defeats, first in Granada against Matí Díaz and Miguel Lamperti, followed by a loss to Juani Mieres and Pablo Lima in Madrid. They reacted winning the Barcelona, Córdoba, Valladolid, and Alicante International's, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Madrid International by Mieres and Lima. They won the Marbella International, but were eliminated in the next four tournaments, with losses in the Fuengirola and Islas Baleares finals, and the Castellón and Sevilla semifinals. They responded with five straight title wins in the San Sebastián, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Valencia, and Ciudad Real International's. They were forced to miss tournaments in La Rioja and A Coruña do to injuries, but returned in Salamanca, reaching the final but losing it to Mieres and Lima. They finished the season winn