À 33 years, Jules Mary, a former French professional tennis player, has decided to turn an important page in his career. After making his mark on the ATP circuit, he officially announces the end of his career in competitive tennis to devote himself to new challenges, notably the paddle, a sport he is particularly fond of and already practices. In a video published on his channel YouTube, Jules Marie looks back on his tennis adventure, his upcoming projects and his ambitions in padel.

No more tennis, make way for padel! Jules Marie wants to reach the top 10 in France

Here is a summary of this major transition in the life of this extraordinary athlete.

An adventure ATP rich in emotions

Jules Mary has shared these last three years on the ATP circuit with a community of more than 130 000 subscribers, which he calls " The Breakers ". Class 203th in the world en 2024 – his best ranking, improving his record of 228e en 2015 –, he made history by becoming the oldest player to win a first round in Grand Chelem à 32 years (in qualifying). Among his highlights, he cites his qualification for theAustralian Open, an epic match at Wimbledon where he leans 10-8 in the super tie-break against Lucas Van Assche, and his emotions at Roland Garros. However, the last few months have been complicated. "For the last 6 months, I haven't played very well. I'm not even 400 and some " he explains. The mental and physical effort required to remain competitive pushed him to stop. "I'm not ready to make the sacrifices I made in 2022-2023 "He says.

He looks back on the highlights of his recent career, such as his five titles en 2023, his best season, and his first title at Montreal which marked a turning point in his positive spiral. Despite some regrets – such as not having reached the world top 200 or not have qualified for a main draw of Grand Chelem –, Jules remains proud of his journey. “Out of millions of competitors, how many manage to make a scoreboard Grand Chelem ? 0,001% ", he puts into perspective. For him, having reached the first series and participated in three Grand Slams out of four (in qualifying) is already a huge achievement.

A transition to the paddle

More Jules Mary is not the type to stay inactive. Fan of paddle For several years, he has enthusiastically announced his intention to seriously launch into this booming sport. "I love this sport," he confides, emphasizing the craze it arouses in France : in 5 years, the number of competitors has increased from 12 000 à 85 000, and infrastructure is multiplying at a frantic pace. "This is historic, we have to get started now," he says. Currently classified 600th French thanks to an assimilation linked to its level tennis, Jules has already won four P500 and reached three end in tournaments of paddleIt aims for ambitious objectives: to integrate the french top 100 within a year, the top 50 in two years, and why not the top 10 in three to four years. To achieve this last goal, he knows he will have to tackle the FIP international circuit.

Le paddle will occupy a central place in his life in the years to come. His channel YouTube will become 80% a channel dedicated to this sport, while reserving 20% of content to tennis, his " DNA ».

A new start

Jules Mary is clear: he wants to take advantage of this transition to find a more stable life, less punctuated by incessant travel. "I'm fed up with airports " he jokes, talking about his desire to build an adult life, spend more time at home, and maybe even meet someone. In the meantime, he invites his fans to follow him in this new adventure, which he promises will be rich in emotions and discoveries, notably through vlogs en Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga) and tournaments in France. “Come watch me play, cheer on all the players and cheer on me too,” he tells his community. With Baptiste et Bastien, his faithful acolytes, Jules Mary is ready to write a new chapter in his career. "Here we go for the padel circuit He concludes.

One thing is sure: The Breakers will be there to follow this new epic.

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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