Amateur padel tournaments, especially the P1000, encounter a recurring problem: some players register for multiple competitions simultaneously, waiting to know the tables to choose the one that seems most interesting to them. If this practice may seem harmless to the players, it creates many complications for the Referees (JA) and the organizers, to the point of jeopardizing the fluidity and fairness of the competitions.

A shaken up table management

When a player withdraws from a tournament after the announcement of the brackets, this obliges the JA to completely restructure the competitionThe consequences can be serious:

  • The Qualifying phases are unbalanced or cancelled.
  • Le main board shrinks, giving the impression of an incomplete tournament.
  • Le work of the organizers is extended, increasing their mental load and decreasing the quality of the event.

For example, at the P1000 at the Stadium Caen, a tournament initially planned for 34 teams ended up with 29 participants, thus complicating the running of the event.

Insufficient solutions to an urgent problem

According to several JAs, the absence of dissuasive sanctions is a key factor in the problem. Currently, there are no strict rules preventing a player from entering two competitions simultaneously. The consequences, when they exist, are often limited to a simple forfeit without any additional penalty.

Some referees suggest possible solutions:

  • Implementation of penalties for players who withdraw without valid reason after the publication of the tables.
  • Creation of a official penalty sheet, allowing abusive behavior to be monitored and punished.
  • Modernization of IT tools for centralize registrations and results, similar to what already exists in tennis.

Outdated software: the Achilles heel of amateur padel

One of the major grievances of the organizers concerns the use of obsolete software to manage the competitions. Unlike tennis, where modern platforms allow efficient management, padel remains dependent on an unsuitable system, making the work of the JAs even more complex.

According to some actors, it is urgent to invest in a powerful management tool, capable of:

  • Prevent multiple registrations for tournaments running at the same time.
  • Facilitate communication between JAs, clubs and players.
  • Optimize table creation and package management.

A shared responsibility

If players have to show Responsibility Law By registering only for competitions in which they actually intend to participate, the federation also has a key role to play. It must:

  • Put in place clear rules and sanctions to frame the inscriptions.
  • To provide modern tools to the organizers to ensure smooth management of tournaments.
  • Promote the role of young people, who are often faced with stressful and unrecognized situations.

The urgency of reform

Padel is experiencing rapid growth in France, but this dynamic is polluted by organizational problems.

In the meantime, referees and organizers will continue to juggle unstable tables and unexpected forfeits, to the detriment of the quality of the competitions.

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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