Sanyo after his split from Bela: "We were born to be rivals"

After the surprise separation from Fernando Belasteguín, Sanyo Gutiérrez told the reasons for the couple's split in an interview with Marca newspaper.
— I need to compete, play, and feel part of all this. It's been two months in which I've felt very, very far away," said the Argentine.

When Fernando Belasteguin and Sanyo Gutierrez got back together in a 2.0 version of the couple to face the 2023 season, nothing predicted such a chaotic start for the duo.

For different reasons, the Argentineans could only participate in three of the seven tournaments played so far. Although the results weren't bad (they played in the final of the Premier Padel Major in Qatar), for Sanyo, the lack of competition is something he can't allow.

— I must compete, play, and feel part of it all. It's been two months in which I've felt very, very far away. I considered how things were going and how the team was doing, and I decided to go separate ways," the player from San Luis told Marca.

He continued:

— In 2021 I missed tournaments because Bela got injured. In 2022 I missed others because Tapia couldn't play Premier... and it's the same now. These things don't depend on me, and I must find a way to continue competing. 

"Granada was a bit of a shock"

The decision not to participate in the Granada Open came when Sanyo was already at the tournament. That's when Bela told his partner that he couldn't participate due to an adductor injury. This made Sanyo decide to break up the pairing.

— The Granada ‘thing’ was what made me take the decision. It was a bit of a shock because I didn't like or share what happened... I prefer to take a step aside.

The year's chaotic start, with injuries and tournament absences, brought back bad memories for Sanyo of his first period with the ‘Boss.’

— It brought back a lot of bad memories from the first stage. At that time, I had to miss two Masters. I played with my nephew almost without training, we played in Valencia, and then he left me. I told him honestly, and he understood. We are no longer two kids who can 'throw away' a year.

"We were born to be rivals"

After two failed attempts to team up with Belasteguin, Sanyo believes that the bond that unites them is on opposite sides of the court.

— We have realized that we were born to be rivals. At some stage in our careers, we have improved each other on different sides of the court. We've tried, but it hasn't worked out either time.

He concluded:

— It's hard to finish a project in the middle, but once I've decided, I look at my path. I hope Bela recovers well and finishes his career as healthy as possible. I'm very excited about working with my new partner.

After the separation, Sanyo will pair up with Momo Gonzalez, with whom he is already training. The duo will debut next week at the WPT Brussels Open as the fourth-seeded in the tournament.