On paper, it's  Yanis Muesser and Arthur Hugounenq  will not be on the front line in Marnes. But behind their status of  Pair 12 of the tournament  Hidden within is a rapidly progressing French association, which is beginning to find its feet and show itself against higher-ranked opponents.

Approaching the  FIP Bronze Marnes II  organized from  September 1st to 5th at Forest Hill in Marnes-la-Coquette The two French players arrive with confidence, rhythm, and above all, the desire to take their game to the next level. In a draw where several pairs have real ambitions,  Muesser / Hugounenq could well be one of the traps to avoid .

 An association that seeks to take a step forward 

Having been together since the beginning of the summer,  Arthur Hugounenq and Yanis Muesser  They are gradually beginning to build their shared history on the international circuit. Respectively  239th and 266th in the world The two Frenchmen have already played in several tournaments side by side, with encouraging initial performances.

On the track, everyone has their own weapons.  Hugounenq, the left-footer, plays on the right Muesser occupies the left side and also contributes his power in the air. A quality that his partner had highlighted during the  Bordeaux P2 , believing that Muesser possessed  "One of the best French smashes" .

“Here, we really play padel”: Hugounenq and Muesser impressed by the conditions at Bordeaux P2

Beyond their complementary skills, the two players also share a common element in their support system: they are both monitored by  Yann Auradou and Pablo Ayma . A still young association, therefore, but one that has already had the opportunity to compete against opponents of a completely different caliber.

 Defeats that speak volumes 

The balance sheet doesn't always tell the whole story. Twice already,  Muesser / Hugounenq  have shown that they can seriously challenge players established higher in the world rankings.

During the qualifications of the  Bordeaux P2 the French had pushed  Rodrigo Coello (107th) and Adam Axelsson (115th)  until the third set. After winning the first set in a tie-break, they finally succumbed after a hard-fought battle.  6/7 6/2 7/5 .

More recently, the trend has been confirmed in  FIP Gold of Belgrade After crossing  three qualifying rounds  To reach the main table, Muesser / Hugounenq found  Francisco Jurado Sosa (180th) and Alejandro Garcia Calahorro (200th)  in the first round. Once again, the gap in the standings was barely noticeable: the French lost on two details,  7 / 6 7 / 6 .

FIP Gold Belgrade: Joris/Robert one tie-break away from the round of 16, Hugounenq/Muesser frustrated… Collombon the last Frenchwoman in contention

 Arthur Hugounenq, a return to regularity 

After a  The start of the 2026 season will be more complicated. Arthur Hugounenq has gradually regained consistency on the international circuit. Today  239th in the world The left-hander accelerated particularly from May onwards, with several interesting results in FIP Bronze.

This is at  Marnes-la-Coquette  that his season has truly taken a different turn. Associated with  Maxime Forcin he had reached the  semi-finals , after a hard-fought quarter-final victory against Vanbauce/Pillon, 6/7 6/4 6/3. A week later, Hugounenq repeated his success by reaching a new  semi-final at the FIP Bronze in Pembroke , this time alongside José Manuel Ortiz.

Since then, the Frenchman has continued to rack up results with two new  quarter-finals in  Brescia in July , and then more recently to  Barcelona in August Without having yet won a title this season, Hugounenq has gradually established himself in the later rounds of the FIP Bronze. A hurdle he will now attempt to overcome with  Yanis Muesser , on the Marnes tracks which had been particularly successful for him a few months ago.

 Yanis Muesser, a rapid rise 

For its part,  Yanis Muesser  is having a particularly interesting 2026 season. Again  480th in the world in February The Alsatian has since climbed considerably in the hierarchy to reach today the  266th place in the world , his best career ranking being 265th.

A progression built largely alongside  Philemon Raichman , with whom he had chosen to continue the adventure this season. As early as January, the two Frenchmen had made a strong impression at  FIP Silver of Caen  by reaching the  quarter-finals , after notably eliminating Lucas Pillon / Johan Peloux. They were ultimately stopped by  Patiniotis / Torre , seeded 2.

Muesser then took advantage of a tour in Thailand to add two new  FIP Bronze quarter-finals in  Samui then Koh Phangan In this last tournament, Raichman/Muesser had notably pushed the number 1 seeds  Richters / Trillas  until the third set, before losing 7/6 4/6 6/4.

À  27 years Muesser has thus moved closer to the world's Top 250 in just a few months. He now seeks to extend this momentum with  Arthur Hugounenq with the ambition of transforming this individual progress into common results.

Yanis Muesser enters the world's top 300 for the first time in his career

Marnes, contrasting memories

Le  Forest Hill of Marnes-la-Coquette Arthur Hugounenq and Yanis Muesser already know him. Both had participated in the first edition of the FIP Bronze last May, but with very different paths.

Associated to  Maxime Forcin Hugounenq had been one of the tournament's pleasant surprises. After a controlled start against  Panken / Marquet (6/2 6/2) The French pair had especially pulled off a major upset in the quarter-finals by overturning  Thomas Vanbauce / Lucas Pillon ,  6/7 6/4 6/3 Their run ultimately ended just short of the final, after another three-set battle against  Nicolas Zurita / Samuel Rivas , seeded 3th:  6/7 7/5 6/4 .

For  Yanis Muesser The experience had been much shorter. Associated with  Philemon Raichman  and pair 10, he had left the tournament as soon as he entered the competition, beaten by  Thomas Vanbauce / Lucas Pillon (6/4 6/0) .

Three months later, the two Frenchmen returned to Marnes, but this time  on the same side of the track Now pair 12 in the tournament,  Muesser / Hugounenq  will try to do even better together and, why not, transform their recent promises into a first benchmark course.

Raphael Degironde

As a padel fan and player, I scan the padel scene: Beware, you are being watched!

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