The director of Babolat Padel, Emelyne Rivière, spoke at the microphone of Padel Magazine during theAPT Monaco Master. The opportunity to discuss the collaboration between Babolat and the circuit, the arrival of Premier Padel as well as the rise of padel generally.

Inclusion, the common denominator between Babolat and the APT

Padel Magazine : How was this collaboration with the APT built? Padel Round ? What is the ambition behind all this?

Emelyne Riviere : “I think it was built on the fact that we share the same philosophy, the same desire to develop and promote the padel worldwide. An international ambition with values ​​shared by the APT and Babolat : inclusion in particular. The APT offers the possibility of playing for juniors, women as well as local players to participate in the tournaments. They show a real openness, and this is also one of the reasons why we wanted to have this partnership with the APT. »

Padel Magazine : Isn't this precisely one of the strong points of the APT, namely to reconcile junior, ladies' and gentlemen's tournaments?

Emelyne river : “Yes, I think that's really the strong point, the starting point. I think it's in tune with what the padel and the values ​​that are his. So in that, it is extremely consistent with the image that we want to develop on this sport there "

Padel Magazine : For how long will you have this collaboration with the APT? Are we on the short, medium or long term?

Emelyne Riviere : “So today it's over two years, but the idea is to be part of the long term and to be in a collaboration that allows us to grow together. »

Padel Magazine : We have seen that the APT offers international tournaments. Do you feel a flare up padel in certain parts of the world and particularly in Africa?

Emelyne Riviere : “So it's perhaps still a little early to tell, but what we feel is that there is a strong enthusiasm in Europe. There is also Latin America, and then there are desires on the right and on the left to introduce the sport. Because everyone feels that it is a sport that is part of modernity, everyone sees how quickly it can develop, how much it can correspond to today's aspirations, to a very free practice and much more. accessible. We feel it and we have signals all over the world, and we see that very quickly it could also take place elsewhere. »

Premier Padel, “a boon in terms of visibility for the sport”

Padel Magazine : There is the APT Padel Tour, but also other circuits like Premier Padel. How did you position yourself in relation to this circuit?

Emelyne Riviere : “So we think there is room for several circuits. We'll see how things evolve. What is certain is that it is a positive point for the padel, it creates excitement and visibility for the sport. We hear about it, and there is a broadcast that reaches large audiences. So overall we can say that it's good for the padel, we are rather happy with what can happen. »

Padel Magazine : You were also partners of the WPT, today what are your relations with them?

Emelyne Riviere : “Today relations are good, it's true that we are no longer partners, but for strategic reasons. Everyone has their place to find, each tournament must position itself in complementarity with each other, in order to find its audience. It's up to them to refine their positioning, but potentially there is room for several circuits. »

“When you start, you want to go back”

Padel magazine : Have we ever seen such an explosion of a sport in the history of Babolat ?

Emelyne Riviere : “So tennis at one point experienced a strong craze, but I think that in general in sport we have very little experienced that. What we are going through is quite unique. »

Padel Magazine : Today, it's not necessarily a fad and we can see that it's here to stay, isn't it?

Emelyne Riviere : “In any case, we are convinced of it, and it is a sport that corresponds to people's aspirations, as I said earlier. With a freer practice, a desire for challenge but not necessarily competition. It's a very open sport where everyone can play, young and old alike. »

“I didn't necessarily predestine myself to work on this sport, but it's really a great discovery and I fully understand all the enthusiasm and addiction that it can generate. When we start, we want to go back”

To find the interview in its entirety, it happens here:

Nasser Hoverini

Passionate about football, I discovered the padel in 2019. Since then, it's been crazy love with this sport to the point of abandoning my favorite sport.

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