Laura Clergue: “Canal + consultant fascinates me more than my life as a gamer or engineer”

Portrait of one of the most famous padel players in France: Laura Clergue, former French padel champion and current consultant for Canal+.

Laura Clergue, an emblematic figure of French padel, has had a remarkable career since her beginnings in this sport to her role as a consultant on Canal+.

Padel has taken up more and more space

On January 1, 2014, I discovered padel while working as an engineer in Aix-en-Provence. It was one of my resolutions: to practice a new sport with my big brother Aurélien, with whom I played tennis but who had to stop for health reasons.

During my first experience, I felt a bit clumsy, often missing the ball after it hit the glass, but I immediately felt a certain attraction to this sport. My very first teammate, Audrey Casanova, who had already been playing for several years, encouraged me to play regularly and to enter tournaments together. Being someone extreme, I started training physically before my work day as an engineer and playing padel every evening. This sport took up more and more space in my life, and at the time, I did not suspect that it would radically change it.

From the office to padel

The most memorable moment of my career was my first year in Spain, in 2017. Being able to live from my passion, I who was used to normal working hours, was a dream come true. I was incredibly motivated and I immediately made great friends, especially with my training team made up of Gaby Reca, Hector Binet, Meli Garcia and Cata Tenorio.

I had everything to learn, but I had an insatiable thirst to conquer the world, and this was quickly reflected in the results, which exceeded all of our expectations. I keep an indescribable memory of this period. My four years in Spain have been extremely enriching on a personal and professional level, and I absolutely do not regret this experience which has allowed me to build the life I have today.

The Canal + call

But at the end of 2020, I felt the need to change despite the good results I had obtained on the circuit that year. The context of the Covid-19 pandemic reminded me of the importance of my priorities in life. I felt the desire to return to France, close to my family and friends, and to focus on my personal life that I had put aside a little. I was not sure if padel would still be at the heart of my life in the future, until Canal+ called me…

Involved in padel

For my return to competition in 2022, I felt a real lack of the competitive atmosphere. The project proposed by Fiona appealed to me. As a consultant for Canal+, it seemed essential to me to stay involved in the competition, to go to Spain from time to time to follow the evolution of the sport and thus be able to comment on the matches in the best possible way.

Clergue Ligi victory semi-final French championships 2022

I am very happy with this return, especially with our title of vice-champions of France with Fiona, and I found good feelings on the ground. The rest of my sports project will depend on the opportunities that will present themselves to me, both on and off the pitch.

My life as a consultant: fulfilling

I'm fully fulfilled in this new life, that's exactly what I like, and despite the intense rhythm of the tournaments this year, I absolutely can't get enough of it.

I love discovering this new world which is so different from my experience as an engineer and gamer, but which excites me even more, I think.

I am extremely grateful to have been quickly integrated into the team, and I feel very good with them. They trust me and involve me more and more in different projects. Some members of the padel team have become real close friends, and we really enjoy working together, which I think is felt on air.

Sebastien Heulot, Laura Clergue, Lyes Houhou, Mathilde Brun, Adrien Maigret GREENWEEZ PARIS PREMIER PADEL MAJOR 2022 — Sebastien Heulot Laura Clergue Lyes Houhou Mathilde Brun Adrien Maigret

We are trying to implement more and more initiatives, with player topics, live on-set interviews, tactical explanations with paddles, and much more. In short, we do our best to ensure that this sport is pleasant to follow and that it is appreciated at its true value.

Canal+: Red carpet for the World Padel Tour in France

It's a pretty incredible week that awaits us on the antennas of Canal+ for this second edition of Human Padel Open: THE French tournament of World Padel Tour. We will closely follow the evolution of our French, in particular Alix Collombon and Ben Tison our French number ones but also Léa Godallier, or even Bastien Blanqué, Thomas Leygue, Jessica Ginier and Lucile Pothier who were able to benefit from a Wild Card for the end table.

We obviously hope to see one of them reach the 1/4 finals on Friday June 16, the day from which the matches will be broadcast on our antennas. The competition will be broadcast from Friday June 16 to Sunday June 18 mainly on Canal+ Sport 360, with sets every day and two reporters on site to cover the event as much as possible. The boys' grand final will even be broadcast on Canal+ on Sunday around 15:30 p.m. to give even more visibility to our beautiful sport.

The entire Canal+ team hopes to make you live the Human experience Padel Open as if you were there, the show, the discovery of new pairs, incredible points, exclusive interviews, everything will be there to make you fully experience this great French padel festival.

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.