The World Championships have taken their bow, the big red curtain is drawn, the end clap on a week rich in emotion in Doha. The final ranking has been revealed and the favorites won the bet, without much surprise.

In these 2024 World Championships, the French have experienced some turbulence, disappointments, disillusionment, but also beautiful victoriesThe day after the final point of this competition, it is time to take stock of the French performance.

An unfortunate draw for the Blues

The players of Pablo Ayma must have been satisfied when they saw the teams they would face in the group stage… a little less when they saw their potential opponents in the quarter-finals. Indeed, if there was one team to avoid at the end of the group stage, it was Italy. The transalpine neighbours had already taken the upper hand at Euro 2024 against France, so it goes without saying that the disappointment must have been immense for the Blues.

A few scares in the pool

The Blues started these World Championships with a big scare in the group match. Indeed, against Uruguay, The French were one set away from losing the match…and let the first place in the group slip away! Fortunately, Dylan Guichard and Man Vives were able to avoid disaster with two sets flown in the decisive match.

After this first scare, the Blues kept their concentration during the other two days. Against Qatar and Chile, the French players were able to get back on track and were able to gain confidence before the start of the quarter-finals.

French World Cup Team 2024

Italy was too strong

Against Italy, France did not have the weapons to secure a place in the last four. The first match was particularly complicated for the French delegation. Johan Bergeron and Timéo Fonteny suffered the lightning of Aris Patiniotis / Facundo Dominguez. A first defeat 6/1 6/4 and already a warning for the Blues.

Dylan Guichard et Thomas Leygue had only one goal: to snatch the decisive match. Despite a bad start against Simone Cremona and Marco Cassetta, the Guichard / Leygue pair had managed to get back on track by winning the tie-breaker of the second round. It was not enough because, in the end, Dylan Guichard and Thomas Leygue ended up losing.

The disappointment is terrible for the Blues who, after a third place in Dubai, could only hope for a fifth place... the best !

Thomas Vanbauce Worlds 2024

Mixed classification matches

Against Brazil, the turmoil continued for the Blues who let victory slip away in the decisive match. However, many believed in the victory of Dylan Guichard and Man Vives after winning the first leg... Once again, the disappointment was immense and France could not therefore play for fifth place.

For their last match, France faced a nation whose path she had already crossed during the competition. Indeed, the return of Chile, which this time, greatly disturbed the Blues, close to a new defeat. Fortunately, The determination of Johan Bergeron and Timéo Fonteny took precedence over everything else and the French were able to secure 7th place in the tournament.

Joy France team world 2024

Cruel disillusionment for French women

Unlike the French players, the Blues were very lucky in the draw. Indeed, the players of Robin Haziza were not seeded and for good reason, their 7th place at the last world championships. Helped by their lucky star, the French narrowly avoided Italy, Spain and Argentina. A good omen for trying to finish first in the group !

A clean sheet in the group

The French women seized the opportunity offered to them perfectly by achieving a near-perfect run during the group matches. Of course, they did not take one of the top nations but we had to be wary of Belgium, the black cat of the Bleues, or even the Netherlands whose team had many qualities on paper!

Finally, the French women managed not to lose a single match during the group stage. A very good performance from the French players who had built up a lot of confidence before facing an opponent they knew only too well: Portugal !

French Joy World Cup 2024

The pain after the defeat against Portugal

Les Bleues were favourites for the match against Portugal. Why? Because they had already beaten the Portuguese twice at Euro 2024. Moreover, the first point was theirs by right thanks to a great performance by Jessica Ginier-Barber et Alix Collombon.

However, the rest did not go as planned, starting with the defeat in two sets of Lucile Pothier et Charlotte SoubriéThe last chances of a semi-final rested on the shoulders of Léa Godallier et Carla Toully.

The win in the first round did not allow the two French players to remain on cloud nine. Nogueira's experience, helped by Santos, got the better of the French and delivered Portugal. For France, The story is similar to that of Dubai and the sadness is immense.

Disappointment Léa Godallier worlds 2024

Difficulty bouncing back

The next day, they had to dry their tears to face Sweden. A particularly difficult task for the Blues who had to remobilize despite pain and frustration. Unfortunately, it seemed that the semi-final narrowly missed could not get out of the heads of the tricolors against the Swedes. New defeat for Robin Haziza's players who were going to find themselves playing for 7th place.

Facing Brazil the next day, Les Bleues managed to get this 7th place, which places them in the same place as in 2022. Of course, the disappointment is immense at the end of these World Championships but Les Bleues remain in 7th place worldwide.

Hug Lucile Pothier Jessica Ginier Worlds 2024

Unachieved goals

For both men and women, the objectives of these World Championships were not achieved... Whether for Pablo Ayma or Robin Haziza, the main quest was to get a place in the semi-finals... and a bronze medal.

These World Championships will be a necessary learning experience for the Blues. This will allow them to move forward and come back stronger for the next editions with, why not, some great stories to go and find.

Gwenaelle Souyri

It was her brother who one day told her to accompany him to a padel court, since then, Gwenaëlle has never left the court. Except when it comes to going to watch the retransmission of Padel Magazine, World Padel Tour… or Premier Padel…or the French Championships. In short, she is a fan of this sport.

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