On the occasion of WinWin's P2000 Padel Cabriès, Charles Gortzounian took part in the exercise of portraiture for Padel MagazineA former tennis player, auditor in his professional life, and passionate competitor on the slopes, he looks back on his career, his partnerships, his doubts, and his desires. A player to follow, between lucidity, self-deprecation, and a desire to progress.

From tennis to padel: the natural transition

I started playing padel three and a half years ago. At the Tennis Club de Paris, several good players had taken it up. There was Clément Filho, my current partner, and especially Dimitri Huet, who was already playing long before us. He was the one who introduced us.

We knew he played, so we ended up trying it... and we loved it. He lent me a Dunlop racket, and I've been loyal to the brand ever since. We started playing tournaments straight away. Thanks to tennis, we already had a certain ease. And since then, no more tennis at all: only padel, full-on.

A group of friends and successive associations

I started playing padel with Thomas Bugeaud, a regular partner when I first started, who plays less today. Clément started about six months after me. He then played a lot with Dimitri. And since I get along very well with Clément, we ended up playing together.

Dimitri is playing a little less today. But our group has remained close, and Clément and I have decided to get back together in several tournaments.

Olivier Guy de Chamisso, a logical separation

Olivier and I started on P500s, then moved on to P1000s. It's not that we didn't get along, but I have a very demanding job. I couldn't train as often as him, who played a lot. I didn't want to hold him back. He had other opportunities, with Robert, Basso, or Muesser.

I play mostly for fun, even though I'm competitive and want to move up the rankings. But Olivier is progressing very quickly; he trains a lot. He's become a much more complete player, more confident, more offensive. He hits better, takes up more space, especially as a left-hander. Before, he was mainly known for his defense.

Maybe our styles clashed a bit. We lost finals against Rouanet, Forcin, and Garcia/Perez. It's not dishonorable. But today, with Clément, it's different: he lets me take up space when I'm feeling good, and it works.

More pressure…

Clément is a really cool guy. We're friends off the field, and that counts. He's been injured in recent months, and I took the opportunity to rotate, to play with others. But now, we're playing together quite a bit again, and it's working.

I don't have a very high training schedule. Once a week. Until now, that was enough. But now that we're in the top 40, we're becoming more visible. Others want to beat us, there's more pressure.

When you play on the left, you can't hide

I went abroad for work, and when I came back, I wasn't feeling so good. I played a P1500 tournament with Paul Fourichon in Central, near Biarritz. We lost in the first round, in the last 7, even though we were leading 5/4 4/XNUMX. It was a bad feeling.

The following week, with Jérémy Garcia, it was the same. Bad game. No confidence. It's really a mental sport. You feel bad in your head, and it shows right away on the pitch.

It's sometimes harder than tennis because there are two of you. When you play on the left, with a right-hander on the right, you can't hide. A big part of the match depends on you.

Daily life between padel and work

I'm an auditor for companies. I work a lot, even during tournaments. Just yesterday, I played... and worked right after. These are long days, often 9 a.m. to 19 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 20 p.m. You have to be motivated. And when you're not playing as well, when you're not enjoying yourself as much, it becomes difficult.

“I have three rackets… and a computer in my bag.”

But I hung in there. I had a good tournament in Nantes last week, we lost in the final. It came back.

How far to go?

I'm well established in the French padel scene. I realize I'm able to tease good players. We're in the quarterfinals of a P2000 with Clément. That's motivating. Maybe in tennis, I couldn't go all the way. So why not in padel?

It's not on the agenda yet, but with Clément, the idea is to have fun and climb as high as possible in France. There are still a lot of people ahead of me. For now, no FIP. But why not from time to time?

FIP Bandol and Narbonne objectives?

The French FIP tournaments in Bordeaux and Narbonne, why not? Maybe with a wild card! In any case, Clément has made an official appeal. We're going to do FIPs together.

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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