The Swiss Lucy Rey et Gaëlle Rey bowed this Friday morning at FIP Rise of Bandol face Jessica Ginier et Carla Toully. Despite a defeat, the two sisters were able to show a very good level in the meeting.

After their match, they returned to the microphone of Padel Magazine, on this tournament and their journey. They also took the opportunity to take stock of the state of padel in their country… as well as their experience under the Swiss banner during the European Championships and their confrontation against Spain.

The FIP Rise of Bandol

Gaëlle: “It's magnificent to play by the water, in a port... it's still an exceptional setting. I think we had a good match, we didn't miss out. We are happy despite the defeat. We faced them a little bit.

We knew very well that it was going to be very, very complicated and we knew that we were going to lose (laughs). But we fought well, I think, and we left the field proud of ourselves.

And the golden point, honestly, it's often a bit of luck. Afterwards, it is true that on these points of gold, we had failures: I missed one Smash really easy and Lucie, a steal. It’s true that it’s a shame to have made these big mistakes at that time.”

Complicity on the track

Gaëlle: “We started playing padel together, and then practically every match in Switzerland, we always play them together. We know each other by heart. It’s also nice to play with someone you really know inside out… and then, we’re sisters! (laughs)”

The European Championships

Lucy: The level was very high throughout the competition. And being able to compete against such players was just incredible. We lasted 39 minutes, but we had so much fun. It's not every day that you can play at this level and against players like that. It was truly an unforgettable experience for us.”

Infrastructure in Switzerland

Lucy: “We started about four years ago, when certain areas began to develop a little more. It's always a bit complicated to find places to build the tracks, and we also have to have indoor tracks, because we play inside more often than outside.”

Gaëlle: “It’s true that infrastructure in Switzerland is very complicated. So in German Switzerland, there are many more slopes, it is developing much more. But in French-speaking Switzerland, we must perhaps have ten indoor tracks for the entire region. So the majority of players stop padel in the winter because there are no tracks available.”

European Games in Krakow

Lucy: “It was great. There was also an incredible experience with the whole opening ceremony, and being able to be among the best athletes. We hope that this can come to fruition at the real Olympics. But there is still a little work to be done, but it would be really great.”

Their presence at the Olympics in 2032

Lucy: “We’re not going to say no (laughs). We'll be a little older though. Afterwards, we are not number one in Switzerland. There are German Swiss women who are number one, we are the 2nd or 3rd pair. Let’s see how many teams they take to the Olympics…”

Dorian Massy

New padel fan, I am fascinated by this dynamic sport that combines strategy and agility. I find in padel a new passion to explore and share with you on Padel Magazine.

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