Michel Corbière: “Padel is a mini-club within the club”

Michel Corbière, founding president of the Forest Hill group, presents the first padel complex located in Paris.

Forest Hill is opening a brand new padel complex in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, with five “ultra comfortable” panoramic courts and a ceiling height of twelve meters.

For the record, the slopes are located at the same place where ex-tennis player Jean-Claude Darmond got married. At the age of 65, Michel Corbière took up tennis, a sport then considered elitist. Today, Forest Hill has changed course by favoring the general public.

Towards a more social tennis

“Padel brings a social dimension that tennis has lost. In padel, we talk, there are four of us on the court. It’s like a mini-club within the club, because we are very close to each other,” says Michel Corbière. “It reminds us of the beginnings of tennis when Forest Hill was created, 40 years ago.”

Padel, a sport for everyone

Padel is an accessible sport where the gap in level between players is less significant than in tennis. “It is an intelligent sport that requires quick thinking. Sporty and intelligent people are more likely to play well in padel,” he adds.

Partnerships and events

Forest Hill is a partner of Premier Padel and will be present all week at Roland-Garros. “We are the first padel center in Paris to offer such a capacity,” says Corbière. He believes that padel has a future as a major sport, especially for women and families.

Business and leisure

“Three times a week, companies organize motivational sessions here. The big advantage is that everyone can have fun immediately, without any special skills,” explains Michel Corbière.

Michel Corbière forest hill aquaboulevard

Rates and services

The full hour cost is €60 per track, or €15 per person per hour. The complex covers an area of 2000 m² and also includes a small snack area for after matches.

The future of padel in Forest Hill

“Forest Hill has always focused on families and recreational players. It’s the group’s DNA. And padel is almost a logical next step. I’m not taking any risks investing in padel. With the advice of Frédéric Rogez, in charge of racket sports, we first launched two padel courts in Marne-la-Coquette, then five. And we know the rest with the largest padel center in France.

We will have padel in three Forest Hill with a total of 30 padel courts.

The unifying side, the club spirit, that's what we're looking for. Tennis has lost a bit of that spirit. Padel revives it.

And then padel, we can see it clearly, is a sport that is aimed at families, friends, women. The fact of being four instead of two in a small space where we communicate, that changes everything.

Michel Corbière, who is 81 years old and still plays tennis, is enthusiastic about taking up the sport. “I'm looking forward to the next French championships for those over 80,” he concludes with humor. And why not ?

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.