During a press conference, Gilles Moretton, president of the FFT, and Arnaud Di Pasquale, director of Greenweez Paris Major Premier Padel, presented today, in the presence of Benjamin Tison (French No. 1) and Melissa Martin (French No. 8), the second edition of the Greenweez Paris Major, which will take place next September. They also took the opportunity to take stock of the good health of the padel in France.

See you at Roland-Garros from September 3 to 10

After the success of its first contested edition in July 2022, the Greenweez Paris Major Premier Padel, one of the four majors on the circuit Premier Padel, will perform his return to the Stade Roland-Garros from September 3 to 10.

The organization of this major tournament (corresponding to a Grand Chelem in tennis) will once again constitute an exceptional showcase for the padel. This event will bring together the elite of the discipline! The opportunity to see the 56 top men's teams compete on the slopes but also, and this is one of the great novelties of this year, the 48 best female teams.

For this new edition, evening sessions will be put in place, with two matches scheduled (at 18 p.m., then at 20 p.m.). The prize money will be on the rise this year and will reach more than 1 million euros. 

Beyond the competition, the Parisian Major will once again be a unique opportunity for the public to enjoy the Roland-Garros stadium in a friendly and festive atmosphere. On the program, many activities, a summer terrace but also the possibility of discovering the practice with qualified teachers. All for a very attractive price, from €10 during qualifying and from €15 for the main draw.

Le padel, strong axis of development for the FFT

If tennis is doing well, with more than 1 million licensees (soon 1,1 M), the padel is one of the engines of this beautiful dynamic. This discipline in full expansion makes it possible in particular to revitalize the life of the clubs.

The number of practitioners continues to grow and today stands at nearly 400 players (compared to 260 in 000 and 2021 in 186), including 000 licensees padel, for which there exists 1 tracks de padel distributed in 609 clubs and private structures. The number of tournaments organized in France (8) is also proof of the good health of the padel in France.

The French Tennis Federation intends to pursue and strengthen the development of padel In France. If at present, the core target of the practice is the 20-50 year olds, the FFT has the ambition to conquer the 15-25 age group.

The FFT also aims to increase the rate of feminization of the practice. In this capacity, it has organized around ten animations of padel women in 2023 across the territories.

Gilles Moretton, President of the FFT, said: « The objective of the FFT is to develop the notoriety of the padel. We were avant-garde by organizing this major event last year but also by developing the practice when we arrived at the governance of the FFT, with the appointment of Arnaud Di Pasquale as head of a mission padel. Our ambition is to inspire as many people as possible to play padel. This is a major activity for the FFT, which is doing very well with 1 licensees. We have created two different licenses, a multi-paddle license and an independent license for the padel or beach tennis. We now have 36 licensees exclusively padel. It is estimated, moreover, at 400, the number of practitioners. The potential of this discipline is immense. THE padel, it's conviviality, the pleasure of playing and an accessible discipline. Currently, among our licensees, 83% of men play padel, compared to 17% of women. We are therefore going to work on the feminization of the practice. Today, all tennis clubs that have built tennis courts padel record an increase in the number of licensees. We have recreated a social link, conviviality within the clubs. The modernization work of the clubs throughout the year allows us to see that these evolve considerably. Today, at the FFT, we have the challenge of continuing this development of padel, via the construction of tracks, the organization of tournaments and the support of the high level. We have a lot of ambitions for this discipline. »

Arnaud Di Pasquale, director of the Greenweez Paris Major, said: « Last year, we were very ambitious for this booming discipline. We had organized this Major, equivalent to a tournament of the Grand Chelem, at the Roland-Garros stadium in record time. We knew that this discipline was at a turning point and we absolutely wanted to take it. This year, we had more time, which allowed us to implement many new features. The tournament has already changed date, and it will thus be the event of the new school year. Important novelty this year, a women's tournament will be on the program. The Prize Money increases to more than one million euros. Given that it will be back to school, and that many people will have returned to work, evening sessions will be organized on the Philippe-Chatrier court, with a match at 18 p.m. then another at 20 p.m., from Monday to Saturday. In terms of box office, we have great news. We are already "sold out" on Saturday and Sunday, with a gauge on the Philippe-Chatrier court at 8 people. We are therefore expecting a very good week. We have also reinforced the entertainment around the Jardin des Mousquetaires, with a DJ and games. The public will be able to learn about this practice on the slopes of padel with teachers. Proof of the attractiveness of this event, we welcome three new partners: ISDIN, Véolia and RTL2/Fun Radio. The signals are therefore very encouraging. We are 60 days away from the event. The objective, now, is to increase in power. »

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