At just 18 years old, Jérémy Robert experienced the 2026 Paris Major with a wild card alongside Yoan Boronad. Despite being eliminated in the first round, the young Frenchman left Roland-Garros with a renewed sense of confidence in his own level and that of his new partner. From the wild card to international ambitions, including his interactions with Timéo Fonteny and the French national team, he shares his thoughts with... Padel Magazine. 

"Playing here so early, I perhaps didn't imagine it."

 Padel Magazine A few years ago, you were a tennis player. Did you ever imagine yourself playing at Roland-Garros one day? 

 Jeremy Robert:  I imagined it, but maybe not now because, frankly, it's all happened so fast. It's a dream to play here. I always told myself that one day I'd like to play at Roland-Garros. But this soon, maybe not. Now that I'm here, I'm very happy. It's truly a treat and the place is magnificent.

"Yoan and I complement each other."

 You competed in this Paris Major with Yoan Boronad, with whom you will continue until the end of the season. How is this partnership going? 

Great. We get along really well. We played together three or four months ago and now we're playing together again in tournaments. It's going really well, we have great chemistry on the court and we complement each other. I love playing with him. I think we make a good pair.

 Your Paris Major team was eliminated in the first round, but you weren't that far from turning the game around… 

Yes, there's a bit of frustration. But we're also happy to be able to play these kinds of matches and to challenge a pair of this caliber. We obviously would have liked to win. In the first set, we even had a break point to go up 7-5. We were really close.

I came away from the match a little frustrated, but also very happy to have been able to play on a court like that and to have enjoyed myself so much.

"We are capable of beating pairs ranked in the top 60 or 70."

 Does this match show you that Boronad/Robert can already challenge players ranked around the top 60 or 70 in the world? 

Yes, frankly, we're capable of it. That's the goal: to beat pairs of that caliber. I think we can already win some matches today. Now, we'll have to work hard and, above all, prove it in competition.

The problem is that we don't often get the chance to train against players at this level. The players ranked around 60th in the world are mainly Spanish or Argentinian. To train against them regularly, we'd have to go to Spain.

The defeat at Marnes-la-Coquette was quickly forgotten

 A few days before Roland-Garros, you experienced a disappointment at the FIP Bronze in Marnes-la-Coquette. Could that have weighed on you before the Major? 

No. It didn't affect me too much. We tried to forget that match quickly. We were going through a rough patch, but we quickly refocused on Roland-Garros because we knew a very important match awaited us. We had to move on so we wouldn't stay frustrated or lose motivation.

"We deserved this wild card."

The presence of  Robert / Boronad in the main table  was one of the key decisions made regarding the French invitations for this Paris Major. A subject that had inevitably taken on a particular dimension a few days before Roland-Garros.

 Did this wild card put extra pressure on you? The pressure of having to prove you deserved it? 

No, from our perspective, I don't think so. Personally, I didn't think that at all.  I knew we deserved it. We deserved that wild card. 

On the other hand, I think it could have been a little extra challenge for those who hadn't received it. A kind of revenge, a desire to show that they too deserved the invitation. That can certainly be motivating and a boost. But personally, I didn't put any pressure on myself about it.

"Timéo is still ahead"

 You're part of this new French generation, along with Timéo Fonteny. Do you feel you've now closed the gap that existed with him? 

I'm getting closer to him, but I'm not going to say I'm at his level. He's still ahead.

Timéo and I love to tease each other about it. But I'm realistic. When I go to train in Palavas, on the diagonal, I don't win much against him! He's very strong.

 What do you still lack compared to him? 

Physically, he's a machine. He's very strong. For my part, I still need to improve physically and keep working on all my shots. I have to keep working.

Boronad / Robert at least until the end of the year

 You and Yoan Boronad have already decided to stay together until the end of the season. So the upcoming results won't change anything? 

Yes. We decided that, whatever happens, we'll play together until the end of the year. A few results in the coming weeks won't make us stop.

For next year, we'll take stock at the end of the season. We'll look at how we felt on the track, how it went, the results of course, but above all whether we continue to enjoy ourselves together.

Jérémy Robert after the Paris Major: "We deserved this wild card"

"Making it onto the French national team is a goal."

After this first experience at Paris Major, Jérémy Robert is now looking towards another major objective:  a first selection for the French senior national team .

 Are you definitely thinking about the upcoming World Championships? 

Yes, I'm thinking about it. Frankly, it's one of my goals this year:  join the French national team I would really like that.

I've proven myself, but it's not over yet. Until the selection process begins, I'll have to keep working and proving myself. Just because I've achieved certain things doesn't mean my place is guaranteed.

 Has Pablo Ayma ever spoken to you about this possible selection? 

Not directly related to the World Cup. But during the training camp, he told me I had played well and that he was happy with what I had shown.

So yes, I'm really thinking a lot about this World Cup. I really hope to make the French team this year.

"We can go for the bronze medal."

 And if you are one of the eight selected, how far can this French team go? 

We're going to fight to get the bronze medal, the best possible result. I think we can get it.

We will have to play some big matches and win some big games, but I think we are capable of doing that with the players we currently have.

It would be an absolute thrill to go and get that bronze medal.

His ideal French team

Finally invited to put himself in the shoes of the coach and to compose a group of eight players himself, Jérémy Robert did not dodge the question.

He would begin with the five French players present in the main draw of the Paris Major:  Dylan Guichard, Thomas Leygue, Timéo Fonteny, Yoan Boronad and himself .

To complete his group, the young Frenchman would choose  Bastien Blanqué, Maxime Joris and Johan Bergeron .

This is obviously a personal selection, but it also illustrates the competition that is developing between several generations of French padel players as the next international events approach.

At just 18 years old and after only a few years fully dedicated to padel,  Jérémy Robert has therefore just taken another step forward at Roland-Garros The wild card for the Paris Major allowed him to test himself directly at the international level he now wishes to reach regularly.

And his next objective is already clearly identified:  to convince the coach that he deserves, this time, a wild card that is no longer one: a place among the eight French players called up for the World Cup. 

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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