Since the dawn of time, in any sport, women's tournaments have often been less popular than those of their male counterparts. Padel is no exception to this.The tables are much harder to fill and the number of pairs is often insufficient for the tournament to take place... A situation that is all the more problematic as it regularly pushes clubs to organize fewer women's tournaments, in favor of men's tournaments, which are more profitable.

On the other hand, there are players who are motivated to challenge other teams in tournaments and who find themselves stuck... What solutions? Do they really exist?

Tournaments often… incomplete

The recurring problem with women's tournaments is that they often end up incomplete. A lack of teams that sometimes – too often – results in the cancellation of the competition, leaving players frustrated and often angry at not being able to play...

A fact that happens for several reasons:

Often, Female players tend to underestimate their level. This sometimes blocks some pairs, who consider themselves to have a P25 level when they could go to a P100. In the worst case, it is a defeat in the first round but, don't they say that we learn from our failures?

Another recurring problem: the organization of several women's tournaments on the same weekend. A case that we sometimes find, when we look on Ten'Up. Two P100 women organized on the same day, in two different clubs that are in the same city. The players are divided in these two tournaments and this inevitably poses problems of filling.

Family life can also be problematic. The weekend is time for homework, extracurricular activities, family time. Being a mom very often means spending time with your children. So of course, a padel tournament comes after.

Finally, The number of players in a league can sometimes be a disadvantage. In Occitanie or PACA, we know that many players regularly participate in tournaments. On the other hand, in other regions such as Grand-Est or Brittany, where padel has not yet developed sufficiently. Filling a women's tournament is often more complicated than in other regions.

Solutions to be found?

Now that the issues have been raised, can we find solutions so that clubs can fill their tournaments and players have the opportunity to test themselves in competition, without fear of last-minute cancellations?

Firstly, organising two tournaments of the same category on the same day seems to pose real problems for the players... but also for the clubs. Regulation by the Federation could be done to prevent this from happening.

Then, could we not help players to really improve their level and therefore, give them confidence in themselves? Some coaches already offer this in certain clubs, but it could become more widespread and help competitors gain confidence in themselves and in their game!

Allowing high ranked players to participate in certain tournaments. Today, players beyond the top 1000 can no longer participate in P25s. Many players found themselves assimilated after having had a good level. Most of them were doing tournaments when it was almost “easy” to earn points. They therefore find themselves on the sidelines, with an assimilated ranking that does not really correspond to them. Unblocking this situation for certain tournaments could be necessary…

There is no miracle solution and things will not change in a few days.. However, until things change, both clubs and players will suffer...

Gwenaelle Souyri

It was her brother who one day told her to accompany him to a padel court, since then, Gwenaëlle has never left the court. Except when it comes to going to watch the retransmission of Padel Magazine, World Padel Tour… or Premier Padel…or the French Championships. In short, she is a fan of this sport.

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