We interviewed former professional tennis player Lionel Roux, who is a tennis consultant and now a padel consultant on beIN SPORTS.

Padel is exploding

I have been playing padel for a few years now. I mostly play with friends in Lyon. Padel is exploding in the region. We can see that there is a lot of emulation and anticipation around this sport.

Tennis clubs and private structures are increasingly getting involved in the padel adventure because this sport meets several needs. It is friendly, easy to access and you can play with everyone. For example, if I play with a very good player or vice versa, I go with much more pleasure than if I am offered the same thing in tennis.

“Tennis is not padel!”

I am Gaël Monfils' former coach and it doesn't surprise me that he likes padel! It can be practiced in training for players, just like Tennis Ballon, and all these little games that bring a little moment of laughter.

Padel allows you to work on your eye, reflexes, and landmarks, and it is also interesting on a physical level.

But be careful, tennis is not padel. The volleys are not the same, and especially the smash which is a winner 9 times out of 10 in tennis while it is not always hit with the intention of finishing the point in padel. There is perhaps more malice in padel, the state of mind in tennis is not the same.

Work to get to know the padel players

I don't know the players as well in padel as I do in tennis. In tennis, I have a history, it comes quickly. In padel, I don't know all that. So there is some research work that I impose on myself upstream.

Game-wise, I watch more videos, I read more Padel Magazine. But fortunately there are also gateways, similarities.

We will try to make the sport known through a consultant who is not necessarily a padel specialist. Knowing how to place your voice, explaining what is happening, re-explaining the rules... There will be an initiation work. There is a balance to be found between players who know and those who are discovering.

The success of padel at the amateur level

At the amateur level, it takes a lot. Financially for clubs it is interesting. It's an interesting windfall for the clubs, it's an additional offer.

Young people want to try other things. It could be interesting to keep a population in the clubs with a larger racket offer. This fun side is important to bring friends and family. I am sure it will work. It is easier to find sensations in padel than in tennis when you are a beginner.

On the other hand, will padel make a big boom in high-level sport? Today, that's the question I ask myself. In tennis, everyone identifies with a Federer, a Monfils. It's harder to identify with a team or a padel player.

First, the professional world must organize itself. We can clearly see that in padel, there are blocks, confrontations. With Karim Alami [former professional tennis player and director of the Premier Padel of Doha], they are organizing all that. We'll see.

A need to identify with players

In major sports such as tennis or football, for example, there is a need to identify with players. Do we identify with padel players today? Are we ready to buy a player's equipment like in tennis? Isn't the fact of being in padel as part of a team a hindrance to identifying?

In tennis, we can see that in the doubles format, there are the Bryan brothers and maybe a few other players, but it doesn't really take as such. Apart from Davis Cup matches, the players in the individual top 100 are not really invested.

And then in tennis, the teams are not always the same. The turnover can also be a hindrance, because we can't identify with a pair. And in padel, we see that there are more and more changes...

Padel, not always easy for former tennis players

They are not the same efforts. It remains a racket sport, but in padel there are a lot of smashes unlike in tennis, which can lead to small injuries to the upper limb.

In tennis, there are a lot of lateral movements, while in padel we are more on the front-back. It is a sport full of mischief because there are far fewer winning shots. This can be very frustrating for a tennis player who loses his old bearings a little. The easy volley that we want to finish is more complicated in padel!

You need to be calm. Even when your opponent hits hard, you have to try not to panic and try to anticipate. There is a subtlety and a multitude of options in padel that you don't necessarily have in tennis. All of this requires a significant amount of learning to be able to feel as comfortable on the court.

Xan is a fan of padel. But also of rugby! And his posts are just as punchy. Physical trainer of several padel players, he finds atypical posts or deals with current topics. He also gives you some advice to develop your physique for padel. Clearly, he imposes his offensive style as on the padel court!

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