5th SET TENNIS ACADEMY is the first club in padel in the West Indies. This club padel located in Saint Martin is the first club before many others that could flourish in Martinique and Guadeloupe. tells us the manager of the center, Laurent Paillusseau. Laurent looks back on his career and his ambitions in padel in Saint Martin. 

How did you know the padel ?

I discovered the Padel on junior tournaments in Spain 10 years ago when I was accompanying a young player that I was coaching. We played between the matches of the tournament and it was very nice especially as tennis helps a lot especially in the game on the fly and the slices

Your past in tennis?

Passionate about tennis since the age of 7, my father had himself built a cement court in the countryside with friends, I never took lessons in my life but spent my time on the Roland Garros courts watching the players and trying on the weekends to do the same! I started the competition late enough to reach 3/6.

I felt better at helping others than climbing the rankings, I discovered some talents, and my passion for coaching started 20 years ago, I was lucky enough to cross the path of Elina Svitolina in 2009 and we won Roland Garros Junior in 2010, then there was the phenomenon Andrey Rublev with which we won 90% of tournaments of the Tennis Europe circuit (Under 14)

Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Darya Kasatkina and Caroline Garcia were also part of the players I worked with, great experiences!

I stopped traveling the world 5 years ago to devote a little more to my family, I found a quality of life in Saint Martin that I did not have in Metropolitan France

Le padel in the West Indies ...

I don't think we will be the first to stay for long. The facilities of Padel are the priority of many tennis clubs in the West Indies today. We are feeling a huge drop in tennis licensees every year. Young people don't want to play sports like they used to. I hope the Padel will be the start of a new sporting horizon for all.

How did this project start? padel in Saint Martin?

The club of Saint Martin exists since more than 20 years, the dynamic never existed because its leaders did not know how to develop "Tennis for everyone".

The community came to pick us up after IRMA which devastated the sports facilities to give a new impetus with a professional structure. We started a tennis school for 5 / 13 years that works very well, run by a BE (former -2 / 6) that brings all its experience to young people.

The schedule / Internship / tournaments padel planned at the club?

5e SET ACADEMY organizes since more than 5 years an international tournament Seniors who is part of the circuit ITF in Marrakech

We had set up the same in St Martin last year, IRMA prevented us from relaunching it this year.

Our goal is simple, to leverage our experience and passion for sports to develop events every 2 month.

The 1er P100 tournament is already scheduled for the February 20 2019 and then the April 20.

Based on its upcoming 2 events we will take stock to move up a gear.

Since the opening, can we already take stock of the club?

A first assessment of 2 months of very positive opening with 60 tennis licensees (adults / children). More and more demand for licenses to play Padel with a majority of women.

Players who were previously Beach players and who prefer this new sport more fun, more convenient, easier for those who have no level.

Objectives / Ambitions of the club?

An ambitious ambition in the Padel (with a minimum of 2 fields for 2019) organize a major championship…. TO BE CONTINUED.

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.

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