Simon Touboul has just finished his studies at business school, and he is already at the head of a padel center à Évry-Courcouronnes : Ace Padel. The site, which includes 7 padel courts, opened in January 2025. Thanks to his family circle who accompanied him in this project, the feedback is very positive.

"The idea of ​​opening a padel center in the Paris region came to me when I realized that it was difficult to book a slot to play padel or participate in a tournament without planning weeks or even months in advance.", analysis Simon Touboul, 23 years old and graduated from a master withKEDGE Business School from Bordeaux.

Tennis enthusiast

“I discovered padel a year and a half ago with my father. We are both tennis players, and I was ranked 15/2 and him 15/1“, he comments.

"When I was a student, I lived on little money. So a game of padel, added to a beer and a sausage after the session, quickly comes to €50. It's still a big budget and I told myself that there was something to be done in the field of padel, especially in the 91 (Essonne), where there was only one padel structure with Urban Padel."

Simon Touboul then begins to look into the matter during his end-of-studies internship :

"I worked during my lunch hours and in the evenings when I got home until 2 a.m., and I got up at 6 a.m. to continue my internship. For months, I began to learn about the field of padel: youth padel, women's padel, bar management, and merchandise sales."

Initially, his parents, from the salaried employment, are worried about their son's plan to invest a large sum of money after having just finished his studies.

"But I went to the banks with a 150-page market study on my padel project. They had rarely seen anything like it and were surprised."

But it's not all that simple:

The difficulty of finding premises

"I received a lot of rejections from banks due to my age. Fortunately, after several requests, a bank supported my padel project."

To realize its structure, the 23-year-old entrepreneur needed to find premises:

"We visited no fewer than 70 premises in Reims, Orléans and even in Oise, before finally finding one in Évry-Courcouronnes, in Essonne."

"Fortunately, my parents, my girlfriend, and my friends helped me with the work. For example, we laid the carpet around the padel courts ourselves. A tradesman had quoted me €30, but it wasn't possible. I watched tutorials on YouTube. Yes, it took longer, but the result was conclusive."

Simon Touboul and his entourage carried out all the work except the changing rooms and the padel courts, identical to those used on the professional circuit, as during the Roland-Garros Major or Bordeaux P2.

Concerning I'catering space, Simon had traveled in Ireland during his gap year :

"I worked in a 4-star restaurant, I learned to manage the flow of customers asking for a beer, a pizza after a game of padel."

His family will come to work at Ace Padel

After two months of work, the structure opens its doors to 4 avenue du Bois de l'Épine à Évry-CourcouronnesThe city counts 66 700 people, for a agglomeration of 200 within a 10 km radius.

En May 2025Among Ace Padel, only two employees are present: Simon Touboul and his father when it is available. In September, Its sisters will join the adventure, before hoping that his father, aged 59, definitely come work with him.

"I would really like my father to come and work with me from January 2026. My parents have always supported me, and without them, I wouldn't have been able to complete this project. It would be a real source of pride for me."

Padel games with customers

Ace Padel offers 7 padel courts full panoramics with a height of 10 meters, a clubhouse with a view of the grounds, open 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to midnight.

"In September, two padel coaches will be coming to work with us. For now, Thomas Schmitz is our only coach, a former French top 30 player. We really want to create a franchise, with an academy and quality coaches."

Simon Touboul makes a point of honor on the quality of reception :

"We know every player's first name; we're not just a rental service. People book their times and pay at the counter. We're losing more and more of the human element, so it was a priority."

Despite his busy schedule, he manages to play three times a week at padel, sometimes with his clients:

"When one person is injured, I play with the other three so as not to let them down."

More about Ace Padel.

Henri Pasquet

Passionate about soccer and tennis since I was a kid, I've been playing ping-pong for three years at a club in Nantes. More recently, I discovered padel! Basketball, rugby, golf, and motorsports: yet more new sports that I follow regularly. On the cultural side, since I love giving my opinion, I write film and video game reviews on my Instagram page, Silence ça Mix.

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