Pablo José Mongelo de Lima, better known in the padel world as Pablo Lima, a professional player born on October 11, 1986, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. At 1.80m tall and left-handed, he is considered one of the best Brazilian players in the history of this sport, especially for his exceptional defensive qualities and his powerful shot.
Foray into professional padel
His jump to professional padel came about thanks to Argentine legend Roby Gattiker, who asked him to be his partner in 2006 and 2007. After Marcello Jardim, alongside Juani Mieres, Pablo won a handful of titles, but it was in 2014 when he moved to the Spanish Championship and a year later he would begin his reign.
He partnered Fernando Belasteguin for 3 years and dominated every season. After Bela’s unfortunate injury, the Brazilian played for a few months with Paquito Navarro.
Bela returned for the 2018 Final Master, where they won. But, after starting the new season together, bad results led to a breakup. Ale Galán became the player chosen to take Bela’s place, and with Galán Lima added 4 more titles to his collection. In 2020, Pablo teamed up with Paquito, who by that time already had more than 400 matches played and more than 85% won.
Typical left-handed skills
Pablo Lima is a human cannon. His crushing blow has a lot of power, in fact, being left-handed, he makes the most of his shot. And like any left-handed player, the Brazilian can break the 3-meter grid on the right side of the court of his opponent.
Generally, it is the backhand position player who hits, but given this player’s left-handed condition, he is positioned to turn the ball from forehand to forehand. In these cases, the pushing defender must recognize that he may have to be the one to retrieve off-court shots with his right hand.
Lima, however, is not just a power cannon, the best moment of his game occurs when his finishing gets into a steady rhythm.
Qualities and strengths
Having had Roby Gattiker as a mentor (and former partner), and Fernando Bela as a long-term partner, Pablo became a traditional padel player.
Lima is not a player who really stands out for his power, on the contrary, he can be considered a defensive tactician and a warrior who, even at his physical limit, does not bring forced errors to the team. He also covers a lot of ground and can build and finish a score on his own.
Let’s take a look at some of his other qualities:
– Smash
Like the cannon itself, he can launch really powerful smashes. On the 3-meter rack or high bounces over the net, Pablo chooses precisely what kind of smash to play at the right time. Even behind the service line, he usually uses a spinning smash to surprise the pushing opponent.
– Backhand
With an unusual two-handed backhand, the Brazilian can attack flat from far back in the court. In fact, he places his non-dominant hand almost entirely at the back of the racquet to add even more power to the shot.
– A master tactician
Pablo is an experienced player who knows how to deal with his opponents very well. He controls the pace of the game very well while he is far back. He slows it down a bit against aggressive players and knows when to hit hard and flat shots.
On offense, Lima, more often than not, converts powerful flat volleys and attempts to aim his shooter towards the opposite side wall or net. As a left-handed player, the opponent on the opposite drive may have difficulty predicting the return of the spin coming from the wall.
The Brazilian is also very good on rebounds coming from the wall and usually hits the ball directly from below, in order to promote a high defensive or attacking lob.
His name will go down in padel history
Lima is one of the greatest champions in the history of the sport. From Brazil to the World Padel Tour (WPT), he has achieved a career that many dream of. Like players such as Paquito Navarro, Pablo remains at the top of his game.
He has a lot of experience on the court and is a threat to any opposing team. But how much longer can Pablo Lima continue to play a physical style of game? With possibly less than a handful of years ahead of him, the Brazilian should take care of his physical condition, considering a partner who not only raises his level but has enough energy to cover more ground.
Thus, it will still dominate the rankings if it can provide the attacking position with a little more energy and less defensive actions.