Professional padel is attracting a growing number of spectators, filling the stands, and gradually gaining ground on television. However, the sport has not yet reached its full media maturity. For Nicolas Fauré, director of HEAD France, Spain, and Portugal, there is still immense room for improvement, both in the staging of competitions and in the way players are valued.

Present at  FIP Promises Paris by WME He also discusses the arrival of pickleball in Europe, the increase in tournaments, and the future of the professional circuit.

"Yes, padel is a photogenic sport."

The question comes up regularly: can padel become a real television product capable of appealing to a wide audience, beyond just the players?

For Nicolas Fauré, the answer is without hesitation a positive one.

"Yes, I think it's a telegenic sport. You only have to look at the tournament attendance." Premier PadelThere are more and more people in the stands and the product is evolving tremendously.

According to him, the professional circuit has already changed profoundly in just a few years.

“We’ve changed the courts, the balls, the staging of the tournaments. It’s no longer the same spectacle as in the early seasons of the…” World Padel Tour »

Give more space to coaching and tactics

While the show is progressing, Nicolas Fauré believes that some aspects are still under-exploited.

The coaching, now audible during changes of ends in several competitions, represents, according to him, an excellent development.

But he imagines going even further.

"There is a huge amount of work to be done on the tactical dimension, the visualization of the game, digitalization, and the strategies used by the best players. Fans want to understand what makes the difference at the highest level."

In other words, to tell more about the game, rather than simply showing it.

Building the heroes of padel

Some observers also point to a certain repetition of the matches at the top of the circuit, with finals often contested between the same pairs.

Here again, Nicolas Fauré puts things into perspective.

"That's precisely how heroes are built. All major sports have experienced these great rivalries. Professional padel is really only seven or eight years old."

For him, it is still too early to compare padel to sports that have been established for over a century, such as tennis.

Pickleball: HEAD is already ready

Another essential topic: the development of pickleball.

Although very popular in the United States, where it has over 23 million participants, this sport remains relatively unknown in Europe.

HEAD, however, anticipated this development.

“We established a pickleball development unit in Miami three years ago. The products exist, we are ready if the market accelerates.”

However, Nicolas Fauré does not see pickleball directly competing with padel on the Old Continent.

"Today, it's padel that's hindering its development in Europe. We're seeing progress, but nothing comparable to that of padel."

Too many tournaments? "On the contrary."

The explosion in the number of competitions, both on the circuit Premier Padel that on the FIP Tour or national competitions, regularly fuels debates.

For Nicolas Fauré, this abundance is on the contrary a sign of good health.

"I was already being asked this question back in the days of the World Padel TourThe more competitions there are, the more opportunities there are to develop players. In the long term, this is beneficial for the development of the sport.

According to him, the occasional filling difficulties observed during certain periods of the year, particularly during the summer or during heat waves, do not call into question this underlying dynamic.

Spain deserves a Major

The final topic discussed was the absence of a Major tournament. Premier Padel in Spain.

For Nicolas Fauré, the country that has largely contributed to the growth of world padel should naturally host such an event.

"I consider it abnormal that Spain doesn't have a Major. It's the birthplace of padel. Today, it's mainly a question of investment and promoters."

In the meantime, he praised the work done on several major international events, particularly in Bordeaux.

“We are very proud to be partners of the Premier Padel from Bordeaux. The activities surrounding the tournament demonstrate that padel continues to progress towards professionalization.

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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