How is Jules Marie's reconversion going? The French player takes stock one month after leaving the ATP circuit to launch himself into a sport that is growing rapidly in France and internationally: paddle.

Ranking

Jules Mary started around 550th place when he announced his transition to padel in early March, with a few tournaments already under his belt, including four victories and three finals played.

No more tennis, make way for padel! Jules Marie wants to reach the top 10 in France

After a month of competition in P500, the Frenchman moved to the 242nd place in the French ranking. With around ten competitions contested in his first month of March, he has a record of 4 wins in P500 et 5 podiums including 4 finals. He also participated in the regional team championship with theReserved Padel Caen.

The opportunity to accumulate points, to move up in the French ranking which is updated at the beginning of each month and to progress. Jules Mary also took classes in Paris, Caen and the south of France to work on areas for improvement.

Associations

Jules Mary regularly publishes videos of his tournaments and highlights his playing partners with whom he has been able to share the court. Many associations with players in particular from the French Top 100:

  • Benjamin Grue (ex French Top 10) at the P500 of Bordeaux :
    "He gave me a lot of advice."
  • Clement Filho, aka the Chewer (French Top 50), at Cap Esterel
  • Jerome Inzerillo (ex n°8, today n°15 French, top 250 world) at the P500 of Bondoufle :
    “We’ll play together again at the P1500 in La Ciotat at the end of May.”

Mentality

Through his videos, Jules Mary shares his pleasure of playing padel and his enthusiasm for this new project:

"Psychologically, it's great. I love playing padel, it's a real pleasure. I could play 5 to 6 hours a day without worrying. I'm happy to get on the court."

A new passion, always with a racket in hand and a yellow ball on the court:

“I have rediscovered a real passion, like I haven't experienced since my 25 years of playing tennis.”

Strengths and areas for improvement

Assets

Former ATP tennis player, Jules Mary has undeniable tennis qualities, having reached the 203rd ATP ranking in 2024. Qualities in attack, volley, smash and short game that he can exploit on the padel court.

Aspects to work on

Like many former tennis players, defense with the windows remains a complex point at the beginning:

“Very technical, especially to know if the ball hits the side window, the rear window… or both.”

Another point to improve according to him: the aerial game, with specific padel shots like the viper, the tray or smash by 3 (when the ball goes out of the side of the court after a smash).

Heading to Spain

To continue to progress, Jules Mary plans several internships in Spain, a major padel country, in order to work on these points and thus achieve its future objectives:

  • End of April : 3-4 days
  • June : 12 to 15 days
  • July : at Málaga
  • August : in between Ibiza, Majorca or again Málaga

Upcoming tournaments

In April, Jules Mary will continue the P500 tournaments, although it is now difficult for him to score additional points. The ranking takes into account the 12 best results of a player, given that Jules Mary has a record of 8 P500 wins and 4 finals.

From at the end of May, he begins the higher categories with notably :

  • P1000 in Bondoufle (With Clement Philot)
  • P1500 to La Ciotat (With Jerome Inzerillo)
  • And several internships in Spain

Objectives

International competition

Jules Mary also plans to launch on the FIP circuit, the international padel scene:

“Maybe… get started on the FIP international circuit. I’m really excited.”

A demanding circuit, with tournaments sometimes geographically distant, but which would allow you to score points in the world ranking, or even to one day access the Premier Padel.

Ranking

The goals remain the same since its first announcement on its YouTube channel:

  • French Top 100 in 1 year
  • Top 50 in 2 years
  • Top 10 in 3 years
Nicolas Fillaudeau

A big sports enthusiast and former tennis player, I discovered padel a few years ago without really focusing on it. Then I became addicted to this sport by practicing it and watching the premier padel matches. Looking forward to sharing the 2025 news with you!

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