Thanks, Belgium, and thanks, Brussels. This weekend we finally got to see so much more than pang padel. It was pure propaganda for the sport that was shown, writes Padel Alto´s Filip Björne.

To those who have never seen world padel before, I will say: Turn on the TV, sit back, and tune into the finals of the Brussels Open 2023.

Then I hope I get a ping on my phone several hours later with a simple: thank you. If the person in question isn't committed to the sport by then, well, then it's hard to like padel at all.

What propaganda from our sport Sunday's finals gave us. While the previous competitions on the World Padel Tour were mostly about pang padel, here in the Brussels Open, we got so much more out of the sport.

Don't get me wrong, I like pang padel, where the team with the best offense wins. But I also like variety, which has not been present this season on the World Padel Tour. But now it was back.

The finals in Brussels contained everything: tactical padel, technical padel, aggressive padel, offensive padel, and defensive padel. All are performed with 100 percent precision, concentration, and focus.

"That's the charm"

I love that the conditions are different in the sport. You can play your maximum at a high altitude in Granada for one week, and then you go to Brussels. That's part of the charm of padel, and I hope the differences can become even greater in the future. Like in tennis, where Rafa Nadal likes the clay at Roland Garros and the French Open more than the hardcourt at the Australian Open, players like Agustin Tapia and Arturo Coello are supposed to like the fast competitions played at high altitude, rather than the one in Brussels.

That is why it is such an extreme feat for the players to stand as champions where the conditions are not the most suitable. Rafa Nadal in 2022 at the Australian Open. And Agustin Tapia/Arturo Coello in the Brussels Open in 2023. The winners will be the players who can adapt best to the different conditions.

On the women's side, Paula Josemaria/Ari Sanchez faced Gemma Triay and Ale Salazar for the 23rd time in a final, a new record on the women's side — a real rivalry meeting.

On the men's side, Tapia/Coello versus Stupa/Di Nenno has also developed into a real rivalry this season. Rivals are always needed to build a sport. And believe me: This is not the last time we see these teams in the final this season. And Di Nenno and Stupa will get their revenge. 

Just let it continue.