Without knowing it, most of the 250 young competitors in Aix-en-Provence last week crossed paths with the world's number 1 referee. padel. Indeed, Florian Couturier, the main referee of these French Youth Championships, is also the chair umpire who officiated during nine tournament finals. Premier Padel in recent months, across the world. None of his colleagues come close to these statistics. And who better than Jérôme Bécasset, himself a referee, to pay tribute to him.

“With passion and discreet humility, Florian went in less than 15 days from televised and over-publicized courses in Finland, where he refereed the world number 1s, to almost anonymous meetings between young beginners aged 9 to 13 in Aix-en-Provence. He approached these two contexts with the same seriousness and the same involvement.

What sets Florian apart from the international competition is above all his experience and his sense of the game. At 33, while many are only just beginning their career in refereeing, he has already been officiating on the chair for more than 20 years, including 10 years internationally in tennis.

And for the record, his career as a referee began at the age of 11 in his club US Bouscat.

Add to this his role as a teacher of padel daily and his ranking among the top 300 French players, and you get a mix of qualities that places him above most of his competitors in the padel.

Thanks to these assets and his impeccable performances, marked by often difficult, courageous, but fair decisions, during the many high-stakes matches and finals refereed on the circuit, Florian has gained the trust and respect of the leaders of the Premier Padel, as well as the best players in the world. In doing so, he proves the excellence of French refereeing and paves the way for other enthusiasts in the future. There is no doubt that, in the future, other finals, why not at the next major at Roland-Garros, will have a French accent on the chair!”

Jerome Becasset

Jérôme Béasset is the Paquito Navarro of the team Padel Magazine. Offensive on all subjects of the world of padel, he returns to many subjects with an always discerning eye.

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