A look back at the live interview on Instagram with Michaël Kuzaj, agent, coach, entrepreneur (co-founder of Twenty By Ten), and padel player.
Here is a summary of the live Podcast of the FACE-à-FACE program produced on April 15, 2020 at 18 p.m. on the Instagram page.
- On containment
I spend confinement in Cannes at home, in an apartment, I am used to working in telework so that does not change me too much. And I do sports every day with my “roommate”, I have never done so much sport.
- On his career and his encounter with padel
I have been a tennis player since I was little, I went up to 2/6. I also played in the United States, in Indiana, in college. In 2013, I found a job offer in Real Padel, I didn't even know what it was. I tried the adventure, in Sophia-Antipolis, I got hooked right away, and Robin Haziza and Jérémy Ritz were kind enough to hire me, and I gradually abandoned the tennis racket in favor of the padel racket. I really liked the friendly side of padel.
- On the Real adventure Padel Club
I helped Robin and Jérémy to do everything there was to do at Real Padel Club: giving lessons of course, but also events, planchas etc. After two years, after meeting Alizée I decided to stop, I traveled a lot on the circuit, then I created, Padel connection.
- Public chat Padel Connection
It is a service company for padel clubs: teacher training, websites, booking software, etc. It fills the legal void concerning padel training since today we cannot rely solely on the FFT for training. The day the Federation launches its own diploma, we will think about the future of Padel connection.
- On his player agent cap
My real job for the past 3 years has been to be an agent for tennis players. Not yet for padel players because the market is too small for the moment (I think it only concerns the Top 10-15 in the world). I started as an agent for Alizée, then for Mihaela Buzarnescu, and Thomas Laurent. 3 days is enough for me, I prefer to do quality rather than quantity.
- On the creation of Twenty by Ten
Twenty by Ten (in reference to the dimensions of the 20×10 padel court) is an adventure that started last summer, with Alex Corté, with whom I worked at the Mouratoglou tennis academy. We saw that there was a card to play on the padel textile market. So we launched this fun, offbeat, and eco-responsible brand of t-shirts. The online store is working and deliveries are assured even during this period.
- On the eco-responsible aspect of Twenty by Ten
We want to reduce the carbon footprint: textiles are a very important issue at this level. We make short circuits (t-shirts printed in Nice), and select noble materials (untreated organic cotton), recycled polyester. We want to go as far as possible in this process.
- His opinion on the cancellations of all FFT events
With the current situation it was not possible to carry out the departmental and regional phases of the French Championships. For me, the only alternative way to organize it, it might have been to take the best in the ranking of each region. It must remain by regions, otherwise it is no longer a French championship, it is a P2000…
- On the future of padel teaching
There is a site that is currently being done at this level. What I would like is that we take inspiration from what is done in Spain. We must be humble and draw inspiration from the best in this area. I would very much like to see Spanish teachers intervening in clubs. I would like the FFT to authorize these Spaniards who do not have a French diploma to teach in France.
- On the fact that many padel players come from tennis
Very good tennis players have an easy time when they start playing padel. But that was certainly also the case in Spain when padel started to become popular. I don't think that today the majority of the best players in the world come from tennis.
Find the + / the part with Alizée Cornet / the answers to the questions / the INSIDE in the podcast here: https://youtu.be/Nz2o27qMm4E

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!