Mathieu GASTON BIGATA is one of the regulars on the French padel circuit. In 2 years, he has managed to reach the French top 100. And it's not over yet. Here he is, logically launching into padel teaching. This padel “addict” has already converted a few to padel. Let the Five footballers in Toulouse get ready!

  •  Mathieu, can you introduce us to your personal and athletic journey? 

I am 32 years old and I have been living in Colomiers since December 2016. I am from Foix, in Ariège. I have been an English teacher in one of the city's colleges and have also been a tennis instructor for several years. I followed a specific training provided by the Ligue de Tennis d'Occitanie to be able to teach Padel.

Personally, I have played tennis all my life and I started the Padel it is now a little over 2 years. I have literally become addicted to this sport and I share it with a lot of my friends, especially those from tennis who are gradually converting to it too.

  •  How did you get interested in padel? 

I discovered the Padel a bit by chance: I had had a half-day of initiation during the year when I had passed the State Tennis Diploma, but it was my ex-girlfriend who introduced me to the Padel by inviting me to come and play a game with her one day in Toulouse.

Coming from tennis, you immediately feel comfortable doing volleys and smashes, but you feel ridiculous at first when you have to play with the windows. At first, I saw this activity as a hobby alongside tennis, but I got hooked more and more, especially after my first tournaments, and I gradually gave up my tennis rackets to play exclusively tennis. Padel.

Today, I am 66ème French, so it is a great pride, although I still have a lot to learn.

  •  What do you think differentiates tennis and padel?  

Le Padel is clearly much easier to play initially. If we put 2 great beginners on a tennis court, they will have a hard time making exchanges, While at Padel we can immediately get to play, the field and the rackets being smaller.

The mind Padel is also much more friendly: there are 4 of us on the field, we laugh, we sleep, the points last a long time, we have a drink and nibble after the game, but it is especially the tournament atmosphere that thrills me, tournaments which take place over a weekend and which allow you to meet many people. I have friends all over France now!

The icing on the cake, we are brought to rub shoulders, or even play against the best French of the discipline, for our greatest delight, which is almost inaccessible to tennis.

  •  On which courts can we meet you? 

Pretty much everywhere ! I move a lot and try to make me available to go play at major events not to be missed (Paris, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Beausoleil, Mougins etc ...).

During the week, I train in Toulouse with 2-3 official partners.

I am licensed at Stade Toulousain but I play or have played in almost all the clubs in the area, especially Toulouse Padel Club, Tennis Club de L'Hers in Saint-Orens, Padel More in Blagnac, Padel Tolosa in Toulouse and of course at Five in Colomiers.

This is again one of the great advantages of Padel, you can play anywhere without being labeled as a player for a single club, as is often the case in tennis.

  •  So, is padel teaching underway at Five Toulouse-Colomiers? 

I am obviously delighted that the Five (and his super dynamic team) offered to work with them. They have beautiful outdoor facilities, a beautiful terrace, a restaurant at the top, I feel very good.

In addition I was told that the manager Padel du Five was former number 2 in France, so that's great! (I think he was talking about Beer in fact!).

More seriously, it's a young team, super nice, caring with customers, they immediately put me at ease, so I'm delighted to join the team of Five Toulouse-Colomiers.

  •  When can we find you on the Five de Colomiers padel courts? 

You can find me on the courts at the end of the month for Padel where I will do my best to pass on what I have learned and try to make people enjoy the game as much as possible. Padel and to progress.

I invite the greatest number to come and enjoy the sun and the arrival of sunny days on the courts. Sun, heat, land on top, friendliness, the Five Toulouse-Colomiers is the spot not to be missed this summer!

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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