In padel, there are names that shaped the sport long before it became global. Horacio Álvarez Clementi is one of them.
For many years, he was one of the biggest names in the sport. He reached World No. 1 alongside Alejandro Lasaigues, later became world champion with Argentina, and went on to coach some of the best players in padel, including Fernando Belasteguín, Sanyo Gutiérrez and Agustín Tapia. But what makes his legacy especially relevant today is not only what he achieved in competition. It is the way he helped shape how padel is taught.
About him
Horacio is not just a former top player. He is one of the people who helped build modern padel from different angles: as a player, as a coach, and as an educator.
Beyond his career on court, he created the HAC Method, a coaching system that has trained more than 4,000 coaches around the world. He is also credited with inventing the first glass padel court, becoming the first president of the Association of Professional Padel Players, and promoting the first Coca-Cola professional circuit. More than a historic name, he remains a reference point in how the game is understood and taught today.
What the HAC Method is
The HAC Method is the coaching system developed through more than 30 years of work in padel. What makes it valuable is that it goes far beyond technique. It combines the technical, tactical and physical side of the game in a way that helps players improve with more structure and clarity.
At the centre of the method is diagnosis. The role of the coach is not only to run sessions, but to understand what each player needs, identify the key areas for improvement, and apply the right corrections in technique, tactics and movement depending on the stage of the player.
Another key idea behind the method is that players must first learn how to learn. Before real technical change happens, there needs to be focus, attention, visualisation, feedback and awareness. That is what gives the learning process more depth and makes progress more sustainable over time. It is not just a collection of drills. It is a framework for teaching the sport properly.
Why it matters for clubs
For clubs, that matters more than it may seem.
A coach can have a good level and still lack structure. And when there is no real methodology behind the training, players notice it quickly. Sessions become repetitive, progress slows down, and the club ends up relying too much on instinct instead of a clear coaching standard.
That is why methodology matters. It brings more consistency, better player development, and a stronger long-term standard inside the club.
Why it matters to us
At Padel Maestros, having Horacio on the team gives us something that goes far beyond credibility. After working closely with him for almost two years, through events, coach education and different projects around coach development, his value to our company is very clear.
He brings decades of experience, a proven methodology, and a deeper standard for what good coaching should look like. In a market where many people talk about quality, that matters. It helps us assess coaches with a more trained eye, work with more structure, and offer clubs something built on real padel knowledge, not just recruitment alone.
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