Benjamin Tison, head of high-level padel and one of the decision-makers for the allocation of wild cards for the Greenweez Paris Major 2024 returns to the big news concerning the choice of toilets. And you will see that it is far from being so simple for the commission responsible for the allocation of GPM WCs.

Question: How did you approach the allocation of the wild cards for the Greenweez Paris Major this year, especially among the ladies?

Benjamin Tison:
Players must first apply for a wild card. Once we have the list of requests, we analyze each application. With Arnaud Di Pasquale, Eric Largeron, Robin Haziza, Pablo Ayma and I made the decisions.

Regarding the French women, there were four pairs that caught our attention: Fiona Ligi / Tiffany Phaysouphanh, Camille Sireix / Louise Bahurel, Carla Touly / Jessica Ginier, and Charlotte Soubrié / Lucile Pothier. These pairs were of sufficient level to merit a wild card. One of the discussions was about perhaps letting Carla et Jessica in qualifying to allow the other pairs to reach the main draw. However, given their current level of play, it seemed unfair to us to deprive them of the main draw. They recently won the FIP Rise of Bandol and narrowly lost in the final of the French Championships, so we felt they deserved their place in the main draw.

Then it was necessary to decide between Charlotte Soubrié / Lucile Pothier et Camille Sireix / Louise Bahurel. Charlotte et Lucile have shown a very good level in the French team, but do not have a very oriented project FIP. As for Louise Bahurel, who is preparing for her baccalaureate this year, she has not played many international tournaments. Finally, we granted the wild card for the main table at Charlotte et Lucile, and left Camille et Louise in qualifying. It was a difficult decision, but we felt it was the most logical choice.

Question: Compared to last year, it seems that obtaining WCs has evolved...

Benjamin Tison:
Last year, I wasn't there. The FFT had indeed favored a maximum of French pairs in the tournament based on the choices it had. This year, we opted for a different approach. It is important to remember that each situation is unique. For example, Carla et Jessica are not protected in the qualifiers, as they are ranked 13th out of 16 pairs. They could have found themselves facing top seeds. Taking this into account, it seemed fairer to us to place them directly in the main draw. It is really a case by case basis.

Question: Regarding the gentlemen, you say that it took a lot of time. What was the most complicated?

Benjamin Tison:
Indeed, it has been very long and complicated. The main difficulty is to know to what extent we favor French pairs compared to mixed pairs (French/foreign). Before the requests for wild cards, I had informed the players that we were going to favor the French pairs, without guaranteeing anything.

Thomas Leygue, as the French number 1, was assured of obtaining a wild card for the main draw with his partner. The question arose for Dylan Guichard, who could have been seeded in qualifying, but with the rankings update, he is ultimately better placed in the main draw. Due to his young age and his recent good performances with Clement Geens, he got a wild card for the main table.

There hasn't been much debate about Blanqué / Bergeron et Vanbauce / Joris, two French pairs who showed solid results. They were also rewarded with a wild card for the main table.

Question: What about the last one? wild card for the qualifications?

Benjamin Tison:
The last wild card for the qualifications was particularly difficult to assign. We had the choice between Adrien Maigret / Jérôme Inzerillo et Manu Vives / Eneko Arija. Finally, we chose Maigret / Inzerillo. They are a 100% French pair, and they have always been there for the French team. You could say that it is a form of reward for their investment. On the other hand, Manu Vives plays with a foreign partner, and although this is not an exclusive criterion, it may have weighed in the balance. Manu had a great tournament recently, but in the end we had to make a choice, and it came down to very little.

On the other hand, there has not been much debate around Yoan Boronad et Timeo Fonteny. Their wild card for the qualifications was practically guaranteed. They are a young pair in full progression, who have shown very good results recently, despite some physical problems. They have proven their potential and fully deserve this chance to play at Roland Garros. I had also announced in advance that they would obtain a wild card for the qualifications. Their level of play and their recent dynamic largely justified this decision.

Question: This non-attribution of wild card à Manu Vives Could it have an impact on a possible call-up to the French team for the next World Cup?

Benjamin Tison:
No, the two decisions are separate. The selection for the French team is decided by Pablo Ayma and me for men, and by Robin Haziza and me for the women. They are different competitions with different criteria. The level of play is important, but the selection is also based on the balance of the group. So the fact that Manu Vives did not obtain any wild card does not mean that he will not be selected for the French team. You will have the answer on this subject in a few days.

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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