Michel Corbière: “The padel, it's a mini-club within the club”

Michel Corbière, founding president of the Forest Hill group, presents the first complex of padel located in Paris.

Forest Hill inaugurates a brand new complex of padel in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, with five “ultra comfort” panoramic trails and a ceiling height of twelve meters.

For the record, the slopes are located at the same place where ex-tennis player Jean-Claude Darmond got married. At the age of 65, Michel Corbière took up tennis, a sport then considered elitist. Today, Forest Hill has changed course by favoring the general public.

Towards a more social tennis

"The padel brings a social dimension that tennis has lost. In the padel, we speak, we are four on the ground. It's like a mini-club inside the club, because we are very close to each other,” says Michel Corbière. “It is reminiscent of the beginnings of tennis when Forest Hill was created 40 years ago.”

Le padel, a sport for all

Le padel is an accessible sport where the difference in level between players is less significant than in tennis. “It’s a smart sport that requires quick thinking. Athletic and intelligent people are more likely to play well padel,” he adds.

Partnerships and events

Forest Hill is a partner of Premier Padel and will be present all week at Roland-Garros. “We are the first center of padel in Paris to offer such a capacity,” says Corbière. He thinks the padel has a future as a major sport, especially for women and families.

Business and leisure

“Three times a week, companies organize motivational sessions here. The big advantage is that everyone can have fun immediately, without any special skills,” explains Michel Corbière.

Michel Corbière forest hill aquaboulevard

Rates and services

The full hour cost is €60 per track, or €15 per person per hour. The complex covers an area of 2000 m² and also includes a small snack area for after matches.

The future of padel at Forest Hill

“Forest Hill has always been about families, recreational players. It's the group's DNA. And the padel is almost a logical sequence. I am not taking any risk in investing in padel. With the advice of Frédéric Rogez, in charge of racket sports, we first launched two trails padel in Marne-la-Coquette, then five. And we know the rest with the largest center of padel in France.

We will have padel in three Forest Hill with a total of 30 tracks of padel.

The unifying side, the club spirit, that's what we are looking for. Tennis has lost a bit of that spirit. THE padel revives it.

And then the padel, we can see clearly, it is a sport which is aimed at families, friends, women. The fact of being four instead of two in a small space where we communicate changes everything. “

Michel Corbière, who is 81 years old and still plays tennis, is enthusiastic about taking up the sport. “I'm looking forward to the next French championships for those over 80,” he concludes with humor. And why not ?

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.