Padel’s Superkid: Franco Stupaczuk

Padel1969 invites you to take a look at our close-up of Franco Stupaczuk’s Padel career. This Padel player seems to always be one step ahead of expectations. If you want to understand how Stupa choreographs his moves, follow along with us at Padel1969.

Franco Hernán Stupaczuk, commonly known as Franco Stupaczuk or simply “Stupa”, is an Argentinian professional padel player. He presently occupies the backhand position and shares the padel court with Martín Di Nenno; the pair have been known as “Los Superpibes” since their teenage years on the Argentinian circuit, and they recently rejoined as a pair in 2023 after several years apart.

Stupa currently sits in the fifth position in the WPT rankings; he has amassed a total of 12835 points. In total, he has played 473 games, of which he won 337, giving him a winning percentage of 71.3%. Stupa has a record of 25 consecutive wins.

Franco Stupaczuk’s Chart

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All padel enthusiasts are familiar with Franco Stupaczuk. Join us in this post if, on the other hand, you are not and you want to learn more about who he is to make sure you know more about one of the foundations of padel in Argentina and across the world.

Franco Stupa’s Debut in Padel

Stupaczuk started to compete in and win tournaments at the tender age of eight. His first brush with the sport resulted in him being crowned champion in those early years. He was barely 12 years old when he became the junior world champion. This rising star participated in the Padel World Cup in 2012, making him only 16 years old at the time, by then, he had already been ranked among the top Padel players in Argentina, specifically the number one Padel player.

His remarkable performances and smart strategy have taken his homeland by surprise and unleashed what local news called Stupamania. He was one of the young prospects who drew great attention in his home country. He has now surpassed those hopes and turned them into reality. His ascension to the top of the WPT rankings was inevitable, as his talent was flagrant in the junior circuits.

Stupa’s Climb in the WPT Rankings

Shortly after, he made his professional circuit debut at the WPT. He had a successful partnership with Marcello Jardim and was awarded the Revelation Player title on the World Padel Tour, in 2016. The 2017 season started for him alongside Cristian Gutiérrez, with whom he reached his first tournament finale and won the Mijas Open of 2017. The pair went on to win the next tournament at the Gran Canaria Open that same year, putting Argentina’s flag high in the WPT ranks.

Stupa’s game has matured greatly over the years. His performance with Cristian Gutiérrez was very aggressive in nature because of Gutiérrez’s strong defense, but enhancements were made in his game as the years went by and his partners changed. For example, when he joined forces with Sanyo Gutiérrez a couple of years later, his game was tighter, and his choice shots were not reactionary anymore; they were more calculated. The pair established themselves as contenders for the number-one ranking position. They concluded the year as the third-best couple in the rankings despite achieving just one victory (in Menorca).

Stupaczuk introduced Álex Ruiz as his new partner for the 2021 season. Because Álex was a different kind of drive player than what Stupa is used to, many fans thought his selection was poor. Nevertheless, they had a fantastic year as a pair, taking first place in the Open tournaments in Mexico and Sardinia and finishing the year as the fourth-ranked couple overall.

After the first four tournaments of 2022, Stupa made the decision to take different trajectories. Pablo Lima, the three-time world number one, was his subsequent partner. Like the year before, many supporters believed that Stupa made a mistake by leaving Álex; and joining a “veteran” player like Pablo. Once more, it was evident that Stupa’s choice of teammates was very well thought out because his agility and speed, along with Pablo Lima’s work ethic and security, made the Argentino-Brazilian pair one of the toughest on the circuit, defeating all the top teams, including the number one pair at the time, Lebrón and Galán.

The Boys Are Back: The Superpibes are back in the courts.

Stupa and Martín took the junior padel courts by storm when they were kids; everyone loved their dynamic play and their complicity on and off the padel courts. Being reunited in 2023 is like a wound healing for many fans. Many have waited for this reunion, as it has been a long time coming. They originally separated because of an injury that Martín suffered, which held him back. During their time apart, the pair have developed mentally and physically and now play differently than they used to, an issue that many feared would destroy the legendary Superpibes. However, their differences have not presented problems; the pair clicked back in place like no time had been spent apart.

Martín believes the sport brought them back together at the right time, and the pair believes they are prepared for everything. So far, they have won four tournaments together. They are showing the world that they are willing to fight for everything.

Stupa’s Titles

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Stupa has also won three Premier Padel titles: The Mendoza Premier and The Guiza Premier with Pablo Lima in 2022, and the Doha Premier with Martín Di Nenno in 2023. Stupa has also participated in the 2022 Padel World Cup.

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