Frédéric Pommier, the interregional federal padel sports representative, was present at the Pyramides Club for the Île-de-France Youth Masters. Rising playing levels, women's padel, and an increasing number of tournaments: we spoke with him about the state of the sport among young people, just a few weeks before the European Championships in Porto.

The Île-de-France Youth Masters brought together a new generation of competitors at the Pyramides Club, some of whom could well represent France in a few years. On site, Padel Magazine took stock with Frédéric Pommier, interregional federal padel sports referent, on the state of the practice among young people: review of the event, situation of women's padel, and ongoing debate on the multiplication of tournaments on the circuit.

 A Masters tournament that's "difficult to fault." 

 — An assessment of the Île-de-France Masters? What works well, and what could still be improved? 

With the current setup, it's going to be hard to find any downsides. The environment is perfect, the number of children is constantly increasing, as is the level of play. The question now is how it will develop, because buses of children are arriving eager to play. It's up to the clubs to get involved and organize youth tournaments to continue developing this sport. Two young players, Loïs Meyer and Sacha Devriendt, have even been selected for the European Championships in Porto: there are many, many positive aspects.

 Padel feminine: "A real issue" 

 — At this Masters tournament, girls and boys are grouped together in the same draws, with no category dedicated to girls. A deliberate choice? 

Women's padel is a real issue. More and more very good players are emerging. But without the possibility of integrating girls with boys, the women's draws would be very weak: we're not ready yet, and I don't think we will be next year either, to have all-women's circuits. It's a goal, and there are battles to be fought to develop this sport.

 — In concrete terms, what levers are being considered to advance women's padel? 

The number of competitors is currently 20,000. Finding ways to take action is not easy, but it will start with specific activities, and perhaps training with more teachers.

 "We're going to try, without necessarily reaching a 50-50, to restore that ratio a little." 

 — On the ground, among young people, do you feel that the dynamic is really changing? 

They're going to blossom; it's happening all over the country. We held a national U12 tournament in Vichy two weeks ago, with girls from all over France, some of whom are already playing very well. I don't know if we'll be able to completely restore that ratio, because there are also a lot of boys joining. But I'm convinced that more and more girls will get involved. And I hope that in two or three years, we'll be able to build a fully-fledged girls' league.

 The proliferation of tournaments: should there be quotas? 

 — Another debate is currently stirring up the circuit: the number of padel tournaments is exploding, to the point that some are finding themselves with less competitive fields than before. What's your opinion? 

If you look at the state of padel four, five, or six months ago, any tournament would have sold out within two days. You always have to reinvent yourself, adapt. There is indeed an issue, with some tournaments lacking players or good players. We'll need to take stock of all this once this period is over and see what measures can be taken.

 — Should we introduce quotas, for example on the number of P500s? 

Just as today's P1000 tournaments are not the same as yesterday's, next year there will be P3000 tournaments, and the P1500 tournaments will disappear. Before, we had a maximum of one P1000 tournament per weekend, which was the biggest national competition. Now, we can have five in the same weekend. I think I'm generally in favor of this evolution—we'll have to see how it goes in a year or two. Before, the best players played in France; now, we have about twenty players who go abroad. The idea is to meet the demands of the competitors and raise the level of play, while still managing to satisfy those who play in P250 or P500 tournaments. We really need to consider the P500, which used to be almost a national level, as a departmental or regional level now. That's how we need to see it, and it's tending to evolve in that direction.

 — Does this mean, despite everything, that the general level is progressing among men? 

That's what we were saying in our discussion: the top 100 might not be significantly stronger than before at the top of the rankings, but the overall level, yes, it's better than before. Back then, there were 150 players at that level; now there are 1,000 playing at that level and fighting for that ranking. I think that's a step in the right direction.

 Next event: FIP Promises Paris  by WME

 — One last word on the upcoming deadlines? 

I'll be at the FIP Promises in Paris, and I invite everyone to come and see this event. We're fortunate to have an international event in Paris, for the U12, U14, U16, and U18 categories, with players from Argentina, Portugal, and Sweden. I hope that as many players as possible from the Île-de-France region and across France will be there to compete at the international level.

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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.

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