Arnaud Di Pasquale, the director in charge of the mission padel within the FFT, looks back on France's sporting goals two weeks before the 2022 Dubai Worlds.

Who to compete with Spain and Argentina?

I don't think that today other countries can really compete with Spain and Argentina. In my opinion, it will take time to close the gap with these two nations.

We see that many countries are getting to the padel, but it's going to take at least a generation of training to catch up. Perhaps the young people of today will be able in a few years to upset the world hierarchy. But it's going to take at least five to ten years to get closer to the best. Especially since at the World Championships, given the formula, you have to have a homogeneous team, with at least six players of a good level to be able to claim a medal. This is the training that will allow the outsiders, of which France is a part, to field ever more competitive teams.

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The Spaniards and their planetary stars

What are the objectives for the World Cup which begins in Dubai in two weeks?

The objectives will necessarily depend on the tables. Can we claim to go for a podium? It will be difficult, but not impossible. Behind Spain and Argentina, we are close to several nations. Among the men, Brazil seems to be one step ahead, we are just behind with Italy, Portugal, Paraguay... Among the girls, there are also very homogeneous nations with whom the fight looks fierce for a medal. There is no security, we are part of the pursuers, we have players who are progressing, we are going to fight hard with several other countries.

The French did not go far from the medal in Qatar last year

Long term goals

The objectives for this World Championship is therefore to give the maximum during the competition. We are convinced that the players who will be selected will fight to achieve the best possible result.

Finally, our objectives are on the longer term, it is a question of building the padel of tomorrow. In five years, we will see what state the high level of the padel French. This is the whole purpose of the sports policy that must be built, and it is a subject that we take very seriously.

Xan is a fan of padel. But also rugby! And his posts are just as punchy. Physical trainer of several padel, he unearths atypical posts or deals with topical subjects. It also gives you some tips to develop your physique for the padel. Clearly, he imposes his offensive style as on the field of padel !

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