Léa Godallier begins the second half of the season with a new teammate: Eli Amatriain. She looks back on all the changes of partners and details her preparation and her objectives for the end of 2023.

A sixth teammate in 2023

“My professional debut was made alongside Mélissa Martin. I then played for a whole year with Laura Clergue. Then I played with Ari Cañellas for a year, then with Teresa Navarro. And this year I am on my 6th teammate."

Léa and Araceli Martinez in Toulouse

"What I say to people who don't understand all these changes is that at the top of the rankings the girls are trying to find the best possible combination in order to beat the best: Ariana Sanchez / Paula Josemaria, Gemma Triay / Marta Ortega but also Delfina Brea and Beatriz Gonzalez. They are very great pairs, which have been showing it since the beginning of the year, and now there is Alejandra Salazar who is making her return to the slopes.

A new project with Eli Amatriain

“This rapprochement took place during the summer break. A necessary break, moreover, because it allowed me to think a little about something else. Indeed, this large number of partner changes was complicated for me. Mentally, it was exhausting because few things were falling into place with my teammates. It takes energy since you change players, you don't know her very well and you have to live with her 24 hours a day. Fortunately for me, I am well surrounded, it allowed me to get through this tough period in the best possible way.

The rapprochement with Eli was made quite late, because we made contact two weeks after the start of the break. Eli called me and asked if I was ok to play with her. I accepted because without necessarily evoking the player, on a human level, she has an incredible aura. She is a girl who exudes serenity and a lot of calm and I think that playing with a partner like her, after all these ups and downs, she will perhaps bring me balance”.

New pair Godallier Amatriain 2023
The new AmatriainGodallier pair

The Top 30 in sight

“For the second part of the season, the objectives are mainly to finish the year in the top 35, the top 30 would be better. And in terms of results, in competition, it would be to qualify for another quarter and not stop there. But I would say above all, progress as a pair, get to know each other better with Eli, have fun on the track and give your all, individually and as a team. I still have a lot to learn and I want to take this experience with Eli and enjoy every moment with her”.

More on the FIP Tour following the acquisition of the WPT by Premier Padel ?

“Am I going to invest myself more on the FIP Tour? This year it seems complicated to me given the very full calendar. However, if I see that it can stick, I will still try to dispute one but I doubt that it will be possible. We thought we had done the most during this first part of the season, but in the end the second is just as busy, if not more. But if I can, I'll try to play a few FIP Tour tournaments to earn some points, because in the FIP ranking (48) I'm a little behind compared to the WPT (41). We will discuss it with Eli and for the moment, we remain focused on the official agenda”.

Marta Caparros Lea Godallier WPT Valencia 2023
Léa and Marta Caparros in Valencia

What program during the holidays?

“A studious and sporting holiday. It is true that I really needed to get away from the slopes and do something else, so for a week, I did not play padel, nor fact of physics related to the padel. After this seven-day break, I resumed a full week on strengthening and physique. Thereafter, I resumed little by little, alternating two physicals a day and a training session. padel. And finally the last week was rather dominant padel. We worked very well physically, it was very hard, it was very hot, we tried to vary the training sessions and that did me a lot of good”.

Sebastien Carrasco

Future naturopath and passionate about padel, Seb is the health/food gentleman of Padel Magazine. He juggles between pala, quinoa and essential oils. For almost two years now he has been dealing with the news of the little yellow ball with the same passion.

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