Grégory Sertic: “Playing with Robert Pirès is a joy”

Present in Paris for the 4PADEL Football Cup , Gregory Sertic formed with Robert Pires The Marseille pair of this edition. A close-knit, complementary, and above all very competitive duo, who managed to reach the final before losing to the Lyon pair. Steed Malbranque / Sylvain Wiltord .

In a friendly atmosphere but with a real level of skill on the track, the former player of Bordeaux and Marseille revisited his relationship with Robert Pires , the qualities of football which help him in padel, but also the Canal+ players who impress him.

A true complementarity with Robert Pirès

For Grégory Sertic, a good pair of padel shoes is based first and foremost on a clear division of roles , with one player on the right and one player on the left.

“I think you need a right-handed player and a left-handed player, that’s the basics of padel.”

With Robert Pirès, the balance seems natural. Sertic plays on the left, in a register more offensive while the former French international occupies the right side with a profile more defensive capable of returning many balls and building points.

“What’s great about Robert is that he’s a very good defender. He also has good hands. All his shots are designed to help me finish.”

But beyond the tactical aspect, the former Bordeaux and Marseille player insists above all on the pleasure to share the track with a legend of French football, whom he admired in his youth and with whom he maintains a today a true friendship.

“Robert is a football legend, I grew up with him. It's a joy to play with him. He's a sweetheart in everyday life, we're friends.”

A rapport that is palpable on the track, with a shared desire to perform but also to enjoy playing alongside the other former footballers present.

“Playing padel with him and especially beating other teams, other footballers, that makes me happy.”

Two men in blue sports uniforms pose on a padel court with paddles and banners, Eiffel Tower visible in the background under a bright blue sky.

Football reflexes applied to padel

Like many former footballers who have switched to padel, Grégory Sertic finds himself in this sport several familiar elements . According to him, certain qualities developed on a football pitch can clearly help on a track .

The first one is the space management , especially with windows .

“I think it’s about managing the court with the glass walls. There are many people who, when they start playing padel, struggle with those glass walls.”

Where some beginners quickly find themselves in difficulty, former footballers or high-level athletes sometimes manage to better position to anticipate trajectories and to understand more quickly travel.

“We manage to position ourselves well, with the double windows, the combinations, and also to directly attack the net.”

For Sertic, this forward aggression even reminds him of... Certain situations are well-known in football. .

“It’s a bit like when you put pressure on your opponent. This aggression at the net to take the point immediately is important in padel.”

Man in blue athletic gear holds a blue paddle racket on a padel court, ready to hit a ball, standing behind a tall black mesh fence.

“Communication is very important”

Another point in common between football and padel: Communication On a track, the two players must constantly talk to each other, share information, reposition themselves and manage the zones together.

“Communication is very important. In football, we talked a lot on the pitch.”

This habit of working together inevitably helps a pair like Pirès / Sertic One defends, the other finishes, but both must remain connected at every point.

“It’s all of that which allows us to form a good team with Robert today.”

One sentence that sums up their tournament well: a real bond, automatic responses, and a shared desire to play leading roles.

Canal+, a real breeding ground for padel players

Grégory Sertic also operates within the environment of Canal + where padel seems to have taken a important place When asked which player on the channel particularly impresses him, he first cites Christophe Jallet .

“Christophe Jallet plays very well. He's a right-handed player, very good, very aggressive.”

But Sertic also wants to highlight a less high-profile profile, one from the advertising agency: Vincent Lécuyer .

“There’s also a guy from the production team who often plays with him, Vincent Lécuyer. He plays very well. He wins quite a few tournaments, he plays P250s, P500s.”

Un a pointed wink to the one he describes as a very good player, but also as a friend.

“Since he’s always been somewhat in the background at Canal+, today, Vince, is your day. I’m thinking of you.”

A man in a blue sports kit swinging a paddle on a glass-walled padel court at night, preparing to hit the ball.

Mandanda, Thauvin… possible future partners?

Finally, when it comes to imagining a former teammate with whom he could form a good pair Gregory Sertic is thinking in particular of Steve Mandanda , even if the association might not seem obvious on paper.

“Maybe Steve Mandanda, who plays very well. Then again, he’s a left-footed player like me, so it could be complicated.”

He also mentions some former Marseillais who have taken up padel or might take it up more.

“I think Florian Thauvin has taken up padel a bit, so I don't know what the future holds, but why not in the future?”

One thing is certain: Grégory Sertic seems to have fully embraced padel. Competitive, powerful, and very comfortable on the left side, he and Robert Pirès formed a pair that made its mark on this edition of the 4PADEL Football Cup .

And even though Marseille lost in the final against Lyon, the Pirès / Sertic duo confirmed one thing: for former footballers, padel is no longer just a hobby. It has become a real competition ground .