Benjamin Tison and Teo Zapata formalized their separation this week. Padel Magazine meets the French No. 1 to take stock and talk about the future.
Padel Magazine : The separation between Teo and you is official, how did it happen? Since when was this formalized?
Ben Tison:“It's been official for two days. Teo called me to tell me he had an offer from a very good Top 40 player. I won't tell you the name because he hasn't announced it yet, but he couldn't refuse. It was done very quickly, it's quite easy as a discussion.
Padel Magazine : Despite your best results with him, we sometimes felt that the team was leveling off… Is this separation a blessing in disguise?
Ben Tison:“I don't agree because we did six paintings this year whereas he had only done two in his whole career and I had one. From time to time we had hard times as a pair on the pitch, but that was more due to the sequence of tournaments. Each time we had a shot less well, we knew how to bounce back. For example, we have a bad result in Rome and we bounce back by making a painting in the Masters behind.
“During the last tournament in Madrid, it's true that we didn't have the best attitude.
Now is it a blessing in disguise, we'll see in the future… But the last time we broke up we both played badly afterwards. We have to highlight the six tables we made because I receive offers from players I considered stronger than me before, and now I tell myself that I am at the level.
Padel Magazine : You are left-handed. Inevitably, players must appreciate your profile. Do you already have keys. If so, which profiles? Are they necessarily Spanish?
Ben Tison:“I am left-handed, but I remain French. If there were 96 French and 4 Spaniards, we would first play between us. I'm bound to be a victim of that, but I still have quite a few offers between 55 and 75. I haven't chosen at all yet. "
"I'm going to do the Challenger with Juanlu Esbri, but only for one tournament. I am lucky to play with a player who is a bit stronger than me in this tournament, so I will try to take advantage of it and score points.
Padel Magazine : We saw a WPT pair used to the main draw (Fernandez / Diestro) win at the APT in Tenerife. Could we also see you there alongside your (future) partner?
Ben Tison:“I have already done a few, but it is not part of my priority knowing that between the WPT and Premier Padel/FIP, the APT is clearly the third circuit. I will go if a week I am free and there is an APT stage, because it is always well organized."
“I especially hope that all these circuits can get along and that we all play the same!”