Mediterranean Games 2026: How many medals can France hope for in padel? Padel Magazine

Padel is about to make its debut at Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games The padel competition will take place from August 22-28 in Italy , with 88 players from 18 nations and three gold medals to be awarded: men, women and mixed A historic first in this multi-sport competition.

And France is clearly not going to Taranto just to be a background player. With Dylan Guichard, Bastien Blanqué, Yoan Boronad and Timéo Fonteny in men, Louise Bahurel, Lucile Pothier, Steffi Merah and Charlotte Soubrié in the women's category, then the duo Guichard / Bahurel In mixed doubles, the French team can reasonably aim for several podium finishes.

It remains to be seen how they will fare, particularly against Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Gentlemen: Bronze is very attainable, but two Spanish pairs are superior on paper.

In the men's competition, the first two pairs are Spanish. Guillermo Collado / Pol Hernández occupy the first position with 13,569 cumulative points , before David Gala / José Antonio García Diestro , with 3,309 points. The Italians follow behind. Flavio Abbate / Alvaro Montiel (2,086 points), then the Portuguese Nuno Deus / Miguel Deus .

The first French pair, Dylan Guichard / Bastien Blanqué appears in fifth position with 1,062 cumulative points. The second, Yoan Boronad / Timéo Fonteny , is eighth with 763 points.

Individual rankings allow for a better assessment of the task. In the world rankings, Dylan Guichard is ranked 87th in the world Bastien Blanqué is 183e , even though the Toulouse native has far more international experience than this current ranking might suggest, with a career-best ranking of 104th place.

Behind them, French youth are progressing rapidly: Timéo Fonteny is ranked 144th in the world and Yoan Boronad 167th. . Fonteny also won his first FIP Tour title in June, at the FIP Bronze in Ljubljana.

But the Spanish level remains a notch above with Pol Hernandez (35th) / Guillermo Collado (37th) and David Gala (34th) / Jose Antonio Diestro (45th).

Behind the top 8 seeds, the level drops drastically with 5 pairs that have no FIP points.

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French chances: serious for a medal

Based solely on the hierarchy of points, Spain is the favorite with two teams capable of aiming for the title. Italy, at home, Portugal and France then form the group of immediate contenders for the podium.

For Guichard/Blanqué, a medal therefore appears as a realistic goal Qualifying for the final would probably require beating one of the top Spanish or Italian teams, depending on the draw.

Boronad / Fonteny, on the other hand, could represent a real trap pair.

Women's: France the underdog behind three particularly strong nations

The women's field appears even more competitive at the top.

Portugal simply lines up Sofia Araújo , current 8th player in the world , partnered with the experienced Ana Catarina Nogueira.

Araújo competes year-round at the highest level of the professional circuit and remains a regular in the later rounds of 2026. Premier Padel.

Spain then fielded two formidable teams: Patty Llaguno / Lucía Sainz et Jimena Velasco / Nuria Rodriguez Llaguno is 22th in the world and Sainz 23e Two former absolute icons of women's padel who above all bring considerable experience.

Italy is not to be outdone with Carolina Orsi / Giorgia Marchetti , ts4, then Giulia Dal Pozzo / Carlotta Casali , ts5. Dal Pozzo is one of the revelations of the season and is in the world's top 30.

The French women come in just behind.

Louise Bahurel / Lucile Pothier is the ts6, while Steffi Merah / Charlotte Soubrié is the ts8.

Louise Bahurel is the highest-ranked player in the competition, at 118th in the world. Steffi Merah is the 144th-ranked player in the world.

French chances: a podium finish would be a very good performance

The high density at the summit makes the mission more difficult than for humans. Portugal, Spain and Italy each have five pairs ahead of the first French team.

This obviously doesn't mean the ranking will decide the medals, but it gives a clear indication: the French women will likely start with a certain status outsiders for the podium .

Bahurel/Pothier appear to have the best card on paper. Let's remember that Bahurel, Pothier and Soubrié have already won European silver with the French team. .

Mixed: perhaps the best French opportunity?

This is probably the most intriguing competition of these Mediterranean Games.

Le Mixed doubles does not exist as a regular category on the international professional circuit. . Therefore, there is no true global ranking of mixed pairs that would allow for a hierarchy as precise as that found for men or women.

The rankings are based on adding the individual points of both players. They give an indication of their overall level, but not on their actual value as a mixed pair .

And in this little game, France appears to be very well positioned.

Dylan Guichard / Louise Bahurel are ts3 In front of them, there are only two associations: Pedro Araújo / Sofia Araújo for Portugal and Marco Cassetta / Giulia Dal Pozzo for Italy.

Portugal possesses a formidable weapon in Sofia Araújo, ranked 8th in the world, and logically appears to be the favorite in the draw. Italy also benefits from an extremely strong pair in Cassetta and Dal Pozzo.

But behind these two nations, France has a very serious argument .

Guichard is ranked 87th in the world among men and Bahurel is ranked around the Top 120 among women. On paper, their individual level therefore places the French duo among the natural favorites for a medal. (ts3).

How many medals for the French team?

On paper, it's Bringing back at least one medal from Taranto therefore appears to be a very credible objective for the French team. Two podium finishes wouldn't be a surprise. Beyond that, they would probably need to achieve at least one strong performance against one of the three major powers predicted for these Games.

And with three very different paintings, one of the great curiosities will be precisely to discover In which category will France find its best chance of a medal? .

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.