Carlos Daniel Gutiérrez Amaya, better known as Sanyo Gutiérrez, is a professional padel tennis player, born in San Luis, Argentina, on June 15, 1984 . With a length of 1.77 m, Sanyo has stood out for his unpredictable style of play, so he always has an ace up his sleeve to surprise his rivals.
Beginnings
He started competing when he was 15 years old. In 2006 he moved to Spain and achieved some interesting results in the Pro Padel Tour. He developed as a player alongside padel players like Lahoz and Seba Nerone, but it was with his friend, Maxi Sanchez, with whom he achieved the best results.
After teaming up with Juani Mieres in 2015, Paquito Navarro was his new partner for the 2016 season and then won the 2016 Final Master in Madrid. Subsequently, in 2018, Maxi Sanchez and Carlos Gutierrez dominated the World Padel Tour. Not long after, both Maxi and Sanyo finally reached the top spot.
The magician
Also known as “El Mago de San Luis”, Carlos has developed some new and improved tricks during his career. Many fans of this sport surely remember the famous phrase of WPT commentator Lalo Alzueta, calling him “Abracadabra Gutierrez”.
Sanyo has more than 20 titles in his collection and has truly reinvented the game with some amazing moves. From the end of the court, behind his legs, to the wall on his right side, or an off-court recovery, Sanyo manages to create magical plays.
Strengths
– Vision:
Sanyo Gutierrez likes to build slowly until he capitalises on the point. Given his slow and precise technical movements, he can follow the trajectory of the ball as much as possible while hitting it from the best possible position. This fast tracking and his slow stroke speed allow him to add extra fractions of a second before hitting the ball to better interpret the match.
In addition, he quickly analyses the opponent’s position and, in most cases, is very accurate in its choice of stroke, pace and spin on the ball. On the other hand, being slightly below the normal Tour length, he can better position himself under and behind the ball.
– Lob:
Sanyo usually covers more ground than his teammates. This allows his partner to recover more energy and decide the most effective way to finish the scoring, Sanyo also returns most of the center returns. His backhand sliding lob through the wall is a fantastic and consistent shot that adds recovery time for both him and his teammate.
He has an incredible defensive lobby where he hits under the ball, to a significant height well over the net and into the opponent’s back. These lobs are often difficult to counter, leaving the opponent with limited options.
The Argentine padel player also adds a lot of cut to his attacking lobs, making the ball pass quickly over the opponent’s head, usually directing it towards the back corner.
– Backhand volley:
As a driving player, Sanyo covers the middle of the court with his extremely versatile backhand. He knows when to hit flat, with a side spin to the forehand grill or a dribble. In addition, he reads and controls the flow of the game very well.
Weaknesses
– Superstition:
Some of the most amazing points we have seen in the history of padel are the work of “The Wizard man of St. Louis” (Sanyo). Unfortunately, Gutierrez builds the confidence of his game on fantastic points, if he cannot perform as expected, he sinks into a spiral in which his level of play progressively diminishes.
Since the game flows and is mainly built by him, the turning point of his superstition leads to a total lack of self-confidence. Without this confidence, Carlos underperforms in the preparation phase.
It is important that the team is always mentally prepared during each point played, because when Sanyo visualizes the match in a negative light, his opponent has the opportunity to quickly change the match or end it.
– Mental instability:
This contrast between a good and bad attitude during the game is usually caused by a lack of mental stability. The Argentine padel player’s style of play is not at all linear and his mental toughness affects his skills, even when a single aspect of his game is not working.
With his Tour experience, Sanyo is a middle-aged man with the hunger of a teenager. To overcome these slumps, his teammates have an important task: to promote his enthusiasm with constant positive feedback.
Carlos should play with a high level player who not only has an offensive style of play, but also has mental stability. Maxi Sanchez was a perfect example of success, as they triumphed in both aspects of the game and both achieved top positions in the World Padel Tour ranking.