Audrey Casanova is an extraordinary player with her modesty and dynamism in the world of padel. Multiple champion of France, vice-champion of Europe of padel, she tells us about her changes, her ambitions.

We are talking about those who go to Spain but not those who stay in France…

Going to Spain is a great project, but it is not given to everyone. Beyond motivation, courage, desire, you have to have the financial means to go there. I do not know if you have already costed a sports season in Spain by playing the game to the full ... I wish Laura Clergue good luck, my partner who is fighting in Madrid to try to be part of the players of the World Padel Tour. It takes guts to leave your family, your friends, your professional life, but the financial parameter is very important in my opinion in this project.

It is possible to find other ways to progress before considering joining the best world level, especially for a woman, in my opinion.

What have you changed in your training? What is your program in France?

Since Laura left (January 2017), I have changed the way I train. Before, I played a lot of games with male players, few two-person training sessions, without a real fixed coach. Now, I take lessons with José Luis Salines, a Spanish coach, I organize the rehearsal work, the ranges, with motivated club players. I dare to hit the ball from time to time with very good French players like Laurent Boulade. I train assiduously on the physical level, with a physical trainer (Julien Leroy). I work on the tactics using videos. Finally, I changed my way of eating and consulted a physiotherapist for prevention. The small downside is in the competitions in France, a little restricted for women ...

Would you like the possibility of joining approved men's tournaments?

I would love to have the opportunity to participate in approved men's competitions. Women's tournaments are rare, the tables are sparse (difficult to gather more than a dozen pairs even for a P1000), and the participants are the same. Meeting different opponents in official competitions greatly contributes to the player's progress. In Spain, girls do not encounter this problem, they are really advantaged compared to French women.

Le padel feminine progresses, but do you find your account there?

I am happy to see that the padel evolves in France. More and more Spaniards are coming to France to play competitions. In the last 2 years, I find that there is a huge progression (since the FFT era). There is, I think, still a North / South imbalance in the development of this sport that should be corrected. More and more circuits are being created with stages all over France. Very soon, there will be big plans for padel which will emerge in particular with the new team at the head of the FFT and I am looking forward to it. The padel female still remains to be developed.

Interview by Franck Binisti
Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.

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