A few days ago we published an article explaining the assimilations in the French classification. A post that made you react since quite a few of you on social networks commented on these assimilations. For some of you, they are completely normal, for others they have no reason to be and should simply be abandoned. We take stock of the arguments of the two “camps”.

Certain facilities for good level tennis players

The assimilations of tennis players were introduced by the French Tennis Federation some time ago to respond to a general complaint from players in the amateur world. Indeed, those who participated in the less competitive tournaments were tired of coming across former or current good tennis players whose level of play did not reflect the ranking at all. Who has never lost against a tennis player who almost never plays in tournaments but who is capable of playing at a very decent level?

The examples are numerous, and they do not only concern low level tournaments. We could see it in Bordeaux with the former tennis player Émilie Loit (44 years old), assimilated 150, who was able to win the P1000 of 4Padel with Marie Lefèvre, in particular by offering herself the luxury of dominating players who wore the French padel team jersey a year ago... Imagine the gap there would have been between Émilie's level and her ranking if she had not benefited from assimilation!

EMILIE LOIT MARIE LEFEVRE P1000 4PADEL

Even at the international level, we have the example of Patrick Rafter, who at 52 years old and with barely a year of padel under his belt was able to secure an easy victory with his partner Justin Thomas, who was playing his first international tournament, against the 5th seed of the FIP Promotion of Melbourne Tomita (435) / Igarashi (1301). Final score 6/3 6/1 for the Australians, who show that being part of the world Top 500 and having played for years does not mean much in such a new sport...

If these arguments have not convinced you, you can look at the French tennis rankings and you will see that many players have played in the second series or better in the Top 100. It must be said that a good or high level tennis player will have years of technical and tactical work behind him, sometimes with good physical condition, but above all learning facilities which will allow him to very quickly be better than amateurs who do not have the same experience. Hence the idea of ​​assimilating, in order to avoid distorting the level of small-level tournaments and to allow those who only compete a little to face opponents of their size.

Padel and tennis: two different sports

Looking at the arguments in favor of assimilations, you wonder what could possibly be left for those who are against it. You will realize that everything is not that simple.

We have seen that a good tennis player does not start from scratch when he picks up a padel racket for the first time, but does that make him an experienced player? Not really. Indeed, there are many examples of tennis players who had a lot of trouble during their first padel sessions. To return to Pat Rafter, the former number 1 at the ATP himself admits that he was “pretty bad at first”. So why would a “pretty bad” player be entitled to an automatic ranking?

Certainly the high-level tennis player will progress faster than the average amateur, the Australian does not hide it: “I quickly learned the basics”. But clearly, today a good level tennis player who takes his first steps in the 20x10 tournament already has a better ranking than seasoned amateurs... Which does not go down well with some...

Furthermore, padel and tennis, although they are under the aegis of the same federation in France, are two different sports. If our sport is quite new in France, and there are many examples of tennis players who after a few sessions are stronger than people who have been practicing the activity for years, are we not discrediting padel by considering that a tennis player who has never played it is already better than most French competitors?

If a player is really strong, does he really need assimilation, why not simply prove his level on the pitch? By removing the assimilations, we would perhaps force certain players to play more tournaments, in order to find a ranking reflecting more their level of play. We can also think that specialists in squash, badminton, beach tennis or even Basque pelota also have some facilities in padel compared to real beginners in racket sports. However, they are not entitled to assimilation...

You see that the subject is quite complex and interesting, and far from being as simple as it seems. So now it's up to you to tell us, are you for or against the assimilation of tennis players to padel?

Xan is a fan of padel. But also of rugby! And his posts are just as punchy. Physical trainer of several padel players, he finds atypical posts or deals with current topics. He also gives you some advice to develop your physique for padel. Clearly, he imposes his offensive style as on the padel court!

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