The French Tennis Federation strengthens the development of padel in France

The French Tennis Federation is continuing and strengthening the development of padel in France, a rapidly expanding sport that already has 280 players, through the implementation of an ambitious action plan. The organization of the " Paris Premier Padel Major " at the Roland-Garros Stadium next July, the launch of a "padel" license for 2023-2024, the construction of new tracks, the training of young people and future teachers and the support of high level are the strong points of this new strategy led by Arnaud Di Pasquale, director of the mission Padel, attached to the general management.

The FFT offers strong visibility to padel with the “ Paris Premier Padel Major »

By organizing the Paris Premier Padel Major at the Roland-Garros stadium from July 11 to 17, 2022, the FFT aims to promote this spectacular discipline. Belonging to the highest tournament category of the circuit Premier Padel managed by the International Federation of Padel (FIP), this event will bring together the best players in the world. This tournament should thus constitute a magnificent showcase for this discipline in France but also internationally.

The qualifying draw (July 10-11) will feature 32 teams and will award eight tickets to the final draw. The main tournament, which will take place from July 11-17, will feature 56 teams (44 directly admitted, 8 from the qualifying draw and 4 wild cards).

At the same time, an exhibition tournament will bring together 16 women's teams, among the best in the world. This event is proposed with a view to organizing a women's "Major" from 2023 at the Stade Roland-Garros.

This competition will award 2 ranking points and will offer a record prize pool (€000). Six courts at the Stade Roland-Garros will host the padel courts: the Philippe-Chatrier court and courts no. 525, 000, 2, 3 and 4.

Distributed around the world, the Paris Premier Padel Major will be broadcast in France by the group beIN SPORTS.

A new license exclusively dedicated to padel players

Following the reform of the "Club" license adopted last Saturday during the FFT general meeting, padel players, regardless of their age, will now have the opportunity to obtain a specific license, the "license Padel ", to practice their favorite discipline. Available from the start of the 2023 school year, this offer, planned for the next two seasons, will be offered at an attractive price (€20). In addition, a new license called "multi-rackets" (€32), giving access to all practices, will also allow padel to be played in FFT clubs and authorized structures.

A goal of more than 2 padel courts by 000

Affiliated with the FFT since 2014, padel, a fun and friendly discipline, is booming. The number of players continues to grow and now stands at more than 280 players (including more than 000 regular players and nearly 130 ranked players), for whom there are more than 000 padel courts spread across nearly 20 clubs. Faced with this enthusiasm, the FFT is committed to supporting the construction of 000 new courts in France by 1. As part of the government plan "000 local sports fields", the FFT recently signed an agreement with the National Sports Agency to this end, which will support the creation of 450 padel courts in France, in addition to the 1 others in which the FFT will invest.

Structuring the training of young people and teachers

In order to support the development of padel in France, the FFT has set up qualifying training courses for teachers, such as the Professional Title (TFP). It also aims to improve the training of young people by developing tennis-padel schools within clubs but also by organizing gatherings, tournament circuits and regional interclubs. At the same time, national training courses and French Championships will be organized for the young elite to help them reach the top level.

Reinforced high-level support

To help the best French padel players shine on the international scene, the FFT has set up an agreement and monitoring with 16 of them, in particular to support them financially but also sportingly. It also aims to facilitate the organization of national and international tournaments in France, via subsidies for FIP tournaments and financing of the P2000 circuit.
Very soon, two indoor padel courts will be set up at the National Training Center (CNE), offering the best French players the opportunity to train there.

Gilles Moretton, President of the FFT, said: "There is a real dynamic in padel in the world and in France, with a strong potential for new players. The FFT had to expand its range of practices, especially since we realized that padel gave some clubs new life. This is why we decided to structure the discipline and develop it with more tracks, a specific license, training of coaches, assistance at the high level... and finally, the organization of the Paris Premier Padel Major which will put a spotlight on the discipline and should allow it to enter a new dimension ».

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.