Morgan Mannarino shares his journey, his strengths and weaknesses, explains his ambition to reach the French top 20 and his plans for the 2024 season with his partner Matthieu Armagnac.

One tournament per year for a long time

“I discovered the padel on vacation with my little brother and two friends in Lacanau (33). We started playing there without really knowing the rules and then we started trying to find tournaments with Jérémy Ritz. And that's how we ended up doing one tournament a year for a few years, we either went to our parents' house or on vacation to Saint-Jean-de-Luz (64). 

That's how we hooked up. We didn't play all season, but on the other hand we looked at the old Federation site and we tried to fit in one tournament per year to have fun and discover more about this sport. 

“More and more players are hitting hard”

“In the beginning, when I started padel I had the advantage of hitting hard on the smash, but now it's become a little more commonplace because a lot of players hit hard. I would say that my other strong point is that I am able to volleyball quite quickly. My weak points will be physicality, defense, patience and consistency.”

Morgan Mannarino

The French senior team + in the crosshairs

“Unlike others, I don't think I'll play internationally. I think it's going to be a little difficult when I see that even our best French win very few matches on the international circuit.

But at 39, I'm still competitive, I still have this desire to try to annoy the players a little as long as I enjoy the competition. And why not aim for a senior French team over 40 next year!”

I have been ranked between 25th and 30th place for a while and I would like to get closer to the top 20 this season. But I know it's going to be difficult because there are tournaments every week, and with my work and my family life, I can't be away four weekends a month...

Play the biggest French tournaments

I'm going to try to play the biggest tournaments in France because those are the ones where we score the most points. I'm going to try to go for P1500 and P2000, I'm thinking in particular of Jarville even if it's not that easy to access from Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Afterwards, there is also the one in Caen which is on the west coast, but it is still far from where I am.

This summer, I'm not going to play because I'm working. Even the P1500, I won't play them all because they are far away and it's too big a waste of money for me to go there... For me, we still don't win enough money in tournaments of padel...

This season, as you know, I am associated with Matthew Armagnac. We started participating in tournaments together in October, and we're going to do at least a short year together, we'll see what happens and then we'll take stock at the end!

Dorian Massy

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

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