Le padel at 4 from June 2!

Le padel à 4 should resume on June 2 in clubs! The French Tennis Federation has done a lot of work to allow clubs to replay 4 on a field.

It implemented a deconfinement protocol for phase 2 on the FFT site via THIS LINK. Note that this is an output protocol project “awaits state decisions".

Here is the main information related to the padel :

Common developments in orange and green zones:

Authorization to resume padel in singles and doubles (in strict compliance with the conditions specified in points III-5-b and IV below) and in group lessons within a limit of 3 practitioners and 1 teacher

Any decision to reopen a tennis or paratennis club, and since June 2, a tennis club padel, beach tennis or short-palm game, must be validated by its Management Committee, which mandates its Chairman to proceed in accordance with government and federal guidelines.

Each member who wishes to resume the practice of tennis, paratennis, and since June 2 of padel, beach tennis or tennis in the affiliated club, must complete online and sign a form (see the kit "resumption of tennis and associated disciplines" available to clubs on the fft.fr site). He must send it to the club by any appropriate means, having regard to the health circumstances (ideally sent to the leaders or the COVID-19 referent by email to the address indicated by them).
- For minors, a commitment from parents and / or legal guardians is necessary

For the resumption of padel :

Whatever the color of the area:
- On outdoor or sheltered grounds, as soon as the four sides are open and the ground perfectly ventilated, respecting the rules of physical distance.
- Single and double (in strict compliance with the conditions specified in points III-5-b and IV below).
- Resumption of individual and group lessons is authorized within the limit of 3 students + 1 professional teacher or 4 students with the professional teacher outside the play area.
- In compliance with the protocol for the use of balls recalled in this document.
- Without changing sides.
- Avoid touching the glass walls, the grilles and the net.
- With the provision of two buckets containing a virucidal product on the edge of each field, by clubs or authorized structures, two flat mops mounted on a broom handle to clean the windows and grilles after each session.

In the green zone only:
- Resumption of practice on indoor courts in compliance with barrier gestures and physical distance measures

Concerning padel on the RULES FOR RETURNING THE "LEISURE" PRACTICE

The rules for resuming "leisure" practice valid for tennis and paratennis detailed in point IV-1 apply for padel in affiliated clubs and authorized structures with the following specificities:

In the field :
- Each player will bring his own set of balls which he will have marked. Under no circumstances may a player touch a ball marked with his / her partner (s) with his or her hands.
- The players will avoid touching the windows, the grids and the net.
- Side changes are prohibited for health reasons.
- For the double game: the principle of respecting physical distance must take precedence over any other rule, practitioners are asked to consider that the field is divided into four parts. Each partner will take care to distribute a play space and will evolve in his quarter of the field, in order to respect a lateral distance of at least 1,5 meters. Crossbreeding is prohibited.

After the game:
- Two of the practitioners each carry out their own cleaning of the windows and grilles over a height of 2 meters using two flat mops mounted on a broom handle and two buckets containing a virucidal product made available by the club or the authorized structure. Then they clean the broom handles and the handles of the buckets.

From June 2: Updating of the rules for education

The rules concerning individual tennis and paratennis lessons in phase 1 mentioned above apply for the padel, beach tennis and the game of short palm.
Unless otherwise decided by local public authorities, individual and group lessons are authorized throughout the territory within the following limits:
- Tennis and paratennis: 6 students + 1 professional teacher per field.
- Padel : 3 students + 1 professional teacher per pitch or 4 students + 1 professional teacher outside the play area.
- Beach tennis: 4 students + 1 professional teacher per field.
- Short palm game: 4 students + 1 professional teacher per field provided that the student brings his personal racket (no racket loan).

Concerning group lessons and double play (reminder of point III-5), professional teachers are asked to adapt their teaching practices in order to favor workshops and exercises that respect distance measures, as well as to raise players' awareness with barrier gestures. In the case of group lessons involving more than 4 players, the number of students in the play area must not exceed 4; thus, the play space must be considered as being divided into 4 parts, with 1 student in each part, the remaining player (s) waiting for their turn or participating in another workshop outside this play space, according to a principle of rotation.

Teachers holding a CQP ET or a CQP AMT are authorized to resume their activity of supervising group lessons while respecting what their diploma allows.

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.