Boris Diaw: a pivot from basketball to padel

Boris Diaw, former captain of the French basketball team and NBA champion, has found a new passion after his sporting career: padel. This sport has become the main activity of the one who hung up his sneakers. Based in the Bordeaux region, he now shares his development projects, including the creation of a premium padel club : 3D PADEL.

The beginnings and the passion for padel

"I started playing padel a few years ago and I immediately got a taste for it. It's a sport that I practice the most since I retired from international football. I don't really play basketball anymore, but rather padel."

"I live near Bordeaux, near the Arcachon basin. It's sometimes complicated to reserve a court, you often have to do it in advance. With a group of friends, we said to ourselves: why not start creating a padel club?"

The padel club project

"We want to do things right. It will be a premium padel club. We notice that there is a strong demand for a complete service: F&B, premium equipment, etc. »

"The club will be located in Haillan, near Bordeaux, and will open in the second half of 2025. There will be 8 padel courts, including one for singles play. We will also invest heavily in the training and improvement players, whether amateurs or more experienced. A padel school, I am particularly keen on it. I saw, in the high level, the importance of starting early. Although, of course, we should not generalize, because some athletes start late and succeed.

"The work has already started, it will be a club 100% indoor in a very commercial area. The appearance of the business seminars I am also very interested in sharing my experience of high performance and development. Sharing my experience of high performance and development is something that fascinates me."

The similarities between padel and basketball

“The first time I played was about 5 years ago, just after I stopped playing basketball. It was in London, with Robert Pires who was already playing a little. I started in jeans, but today I traded the basketball for a padel racket.

"There are similarities between padel and basketball, especially in terms of strategy and abstract between players. I find that 3-a-side basketball is even closer to padel. Analyzing the trajectories and appreciate the team competition, it's very similar."

Rivalries and progression in padel

“Basketball players often like to play hard, but if I had to give one piece of advice, it would be to play with a little more more smoothly., because it can be just as effective, if not better!”

"I took out a license two years ago to participate in local tournaments, and I intend to continue.”

"I have played several times against Tony Parker. We had to face each other three times. There is a little rivalry between us on the padel courts! He is my favorite opponent. » (laughs)

"I would like to play with Thierry Omeyer, I know he plays well."

Strengths and weaknesses on the ground

" My best shot, it's the By 4. As a basketball player, I don't think too much: I shoot straight ahead. But I have to work on my game to bring more finesse »

" My worst blow, these are the very low balls. With my 2 meters 05, there is sometimes a certain distance between my racket and the ball. Fortunately, I have good legs and that makes the flexion work (laughs)!

Photo Credit: Florent Larronde

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.