Thanks to an interview he gave us on the training of teachers in padel in France (*), Romain Taupin has given us a theory that is both relevant and amusing. 

Taste for provocation

According to this economist and statistician from padel, who is also a Barcelona-trained coach, “the padel, it's the pétanque of the 21ᵉ century”! With his art of the formula and a certain taste for provocation, the creator of the site Padelonomics tells us that conviviality and the desire to have fun are essential among fans of padel.

Moreover, Romain Taupin has plenty of ideas: in an interview he gave us in the spring of 2021, he already believed that “the padel, it's a leisure sports bar, it's not a competition centre”.

Imbued with padel “Spanish style”, the creator of Padelonomics often recalls that it “fights for the development of a padel convivial, playful and human in France, far from elitism and the obsession with competition”.

"The padel is a bar with a sports extension”

Today, he drives the point home: “I often say that the padel is not a sport that one endows with a bar, but it is a bar that one endows with a sporting extension: therefore the padel, it's rather the pétanque of the 21st century. In Spain, where the market is mature, there is very little of this notion of high level sport. Out of 4 million players, there are only 100 licensed in Spain. And the majority of them are people over 000.”

“95% of people who take courses in padel do not dream of a high level at all: these people simply want to have fun after a day's work. They want to forget their daily lives, get to know other people and do it with a good facilitator, who will correct two or three small faults without going into scale exercises that will frustrate the students. We are here in tune with the times: the search for immediate pleasure.”

Romain Taupin

Agree or disagree with Mr. Padelonomics? In our opinion, his statement must be nuanced in France, where the majority of players of padel come from tennis. Some of them indeed see the padel as a pure hobby, but others are imbued with the culture of competition. A culture widely propagated by the French Tennis Federation, which manages the padel since 2014.
The debate is launched: do not hesitate to comment on this article below.

(*) Interview that we will publish soon. 

Photo credit: Pixabay / Padel Magazine

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme falls into the pot of padel in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves pala in hand! Journalist in Alsace, he has no other ambition than to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

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