Shortly after having retired from sport, Johan Bergeron spoke at the microphone of Padel Magazine to reveal the reasons behind his choice.

“The future in the France team will necessarily happen without me, that's for sure. Afterwards, I know that given the players that there are already in the France team and when we see their current level, I really don't worry. There will necessarily be someone who will be there to replace me without any problem. »

Padel Magazine : Exactly, who do you see taking over?

JB : “Given that the last World Championship I did on the right, we will rather look for a player on the right. I think we all have in a little corner of our heads Dylan Guichard, who is training in Spain, a great left-hander. He has all the qualities to succeed. »

“Getting motivated for the France team is easy, but getting motivated to train for a whole year is something else!”

Padel Magazine : As you can see, we were surprised at the announcement of your decision to put your career on hold. How is this decision explained?

JB : “I don't think I'm playing the best right now, I'm a lot less trained than before. And it's been two years since I returned to France, that I have these projects with the All-In Padel, that I train less. I already wanted to quit last year to be frank. But with the arrival of the new circuit, we heard about Roland-Garros... I wanted to continue because I also wanted to take advantage of those moments, and I think I did well because seeing all the tournaments which have been magnificent this year, I think I would have had one regret.

My head has been elsewhere already for a little over a year. Motivating yourself for the French Championships and the deadlines in the French team is easy, but motivating yourself for a whole year to train is something else and I know that I am no longer able to do it. »

Johan Bergeron

Padel Magazine : Can we still expect to see you in elite competitions, or does your decision mean stopping everything?

JB : “As far as the French Championships are concerned, it's over. I start from the principle that when I participate in a tournament, it is to hope to go to the end or at least to be able to give the maximum to hope to go there. And there, I'm not 100% anymore so I don't want to engage in such tough competitions to be diminished or not invested.

I do not want to appear for someone who has a “big head” but: once you have won titles, it is very difficult to take advantage of the moment to lose in the quarters.

If I have an opportunity to do some tournaments, I will do it with pleasure but it will be really fun above all and it will not be a priority in any case. »

Focus on the All-In

Padel Magazine : Now let's talk about your new career. We know you're with the All-in band Padel for a while, can you tell us what's going on there now?

JB “That's also why I made the decision to quit. I am focused on other things. I'm lucky to be associated with people who are great and who want to grow in this sport, whether it's Thierry Ascione, Jo Tsonga or even Anthony Lopes (OL goalkeeper) who is a fan of this sport. For the little anecdote, we did a World Cup event at the opening of the competition and he came to give the prizes to all the players.

We are developing, we have three centers (one of which we are opening at the beginning of January), we have the online store All-In Padel shop which has been launched and which we are trying to make known. Black Friday helped us a little because there is entertainment around it.

Afterwards, we are on many other projects. I am lucky to be associated with them and it is true that there are 0 limits. It has to be done well, but in any case everything is done so that we go forward and that we don't stop at three centers and a website. »

Padel Magazine : You are not going to stop there, what does that mean concretely?

JB : “It means that we look at everything that is happening elsewhere, and that we are ready. If there are opportunities, we will seize them. In any case, we won't do anything in the sense that we have our business model and we won't break the rule. We are not going to embark on a project if we know that it will not be viable, for example. We are watching all this, but we are still on the lookout. »

“The Human Padel Open, one of the worst moments of my career”

Padel Magazine : What was the most complicated moment for you on a track of padel, a moment when you could have said to yourself: "there I could have stopped before time"?

JB : “I sincerely think that in the middle of this year I had very complicated moments because I was training less. I performed well at the start of the year doing the last lap of previas and 2nd lap of previas, and I don't know if I rested on my skills or anything, but in any case I trained less at this moment.

The worst moment was surely the World Padel Tour Toulouse (Human Padel Open), where physically I was on the street. I wanted to enjoy, I wanted to see my friends, in my head everything was mixed up.

This period was tough because I'm quite realistic about what I do and I know that at that time physically I was really in trouble, and it's very complicated to feel so happy. »

Bergeron Leygue handshake toulouse 2022

The 1st season with Bastien Blanqué, an unforgettable memory

Padel Magazine : Apart from medals or titles, were there moments of euphoria, where you felt invincible?

JB : “I sincerely think that when I started with Bastien (Blanqué), when we left for Madrid, it's true that we had an incredible year! There is this famous title of Champions of France (the 1st), but over the whole year I believe that we had lost only 3 or 4 matches. And then even the following year, there was the rivalry with Ben (Tison) and Adri (Maigret). But there was a certain confidence in us which meant that we could lose, but we always arrived on the pitch saying to ourselves “we are going to win this match, if we put in the ingredients, we will win”.

It's true that it's moments on the contrary that are really “kiffant”. I'm not going to say that you really feel invincible, because when we went to the World Padel Tour we also took bitter defeats.

We knew that when we went to France, we had a lot of chances of winning.

And then also I liked my change of side, at the beginning. When I started moving to the left and I played with Ben, we had two or three tournaments where the level of play was almost excellent. And then afterwards when I learned to defend with the windows on the left, I may have lost a bit of the ardor I had to go forward. »

Padel Magazine : Didn't you say to yourself at some point that you could have continued with Bastien Blanqué?

JB : “We could have, yes. In particular because we got along well, on the track we were very complementary. Afterwards, you also have to realize all the work that is done behind it and yes we were very confident on a lot of tournaments etc. we lived together for two years, I changed town because I needed change, we trained together every day and after a while yes, maybe this flame faded a little. And especially if I stopped with Bastien, it's because I wanted to change sides! »

Padel Magazine : In recent weeks we have seen Bastien play at an exceptional levels to the left. And at the same time many think that he is such a defender, that on the right he could perform. With you on the left, wouldn't one last dance at the next French Championships with Bastien on the right and you on the left “heat you up”?

JB : “Honestly, I don't know. I don't know how the team would have worked out. After when I decided to play on the left, I knew that I was not going to be at the top compared to other players on the left. And I think that at the beginning I was less good than some left-wing players in France.

Playing with Ben was a big help for me. I don't know if Bastien would have helped me in the same way that Ben helped me by being left-handed.

But he knows Bastien. He is very complete, he is someone who can play on the left as well as on the right. Afterwards, it's the head that will ensure that if he wants to play on the right he will play very well. If he doesn't feel like it, all the ingredients won't be there to perform. But he has the ability to play both sides, no problem. »

Watch the interview in its entirety below:

Nasser Hoverini

Passionate about football, I discovered the padel in 2019. Since then, it's been crazy love with this sport to the point of abandoning my favorite sport.

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