The French Tennis Federation reinforces the development of padel in France

The French Tennis Federation continues and strengthens the development of padel in France, a rapidly expanding sport which already has 280 practitioners, through the implementation of an ambitious action plan. The organization of the Paris Premier Padel Major at the Stade Roland-Garros next July, the launch of a license padel » for 2023-2024, the construction of new tracks, the training of young people and future teachers or the support of high level are the strong axes 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 the 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 and 11) will feature 32 teams and issue eight tickets to the final draw. The main tournament, which will take place from July 11 to 17, will feature 56 teams (44 admitted directly, 8 from qualifications 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 offer a record prize pool (€000). Six courts at the Roland-Garros Stadium will host the padel : the Philippe-Chatrier court and courts n°2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

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 players of padel

Following the reform of the "Club" license adopted last Saturday at the general assembly of the FFT, the players of padel, 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 you to play padel in FFT clubs and authorized structures.

A target of more than 2 leads padel by 2024

Affiliated to the FFT since 2014, the padel, a fun and friendly discipline, is booming. The number of practitioners continues to grow and today 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 spread over nearly 450 clubs. Faced with this enthusiasm, the FFT is committed to supporting the construction of 1 new tracks in France by 000. As part of the government plan "2024 local sports grounds", the FFT recently signed a agreement with the Agence Nationale du Sport, which will support the creation of 5 padel in France, in addition to the 500 others in which the FFT will invest.

Structuring the training of young people and teachers

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

Reinforced high-level support

To help the best French players of padel to shine on the international scene, the FFT has set up an agreement and a follow-up with 16 of them, notably allowing them to be supported financially but also sportingly. It also aims to facilitate the organization of national and international tournaments in France, via subsidies for FIP tournaments and funding for the P2000 circuit.
Very soon, two tracks of padel covered will be set up at the National Training Center (CNE), offering the possibility to the best French players to train there.

Gilles Moretton, President of the FFT, said: “There is a real dynamic padel in the world and in France, with a strong potential of new players. The FFT had to expand its range of practices, especially as we realized that the padel gave oxygen to certain clubs. That's why we decided to structure the discipline and develop it with more tracks, a specific license, the training of coaches, help at the top 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 discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.