Interview with Nathalie Bladou, founder of the company Prestige sport, which offers rugby, golf and now padel stays, with a stay which will take place next month in Santander on the occasion of the tournament World Padel Tour.

Prestige sport, since 2002

I created my company Sport Prestige in 2002, focusing more on tennis, my childhood sport. In 2007 during the Rugby World Cup in France, I threw myself into hosting major matches, the VI Nations tournament and the Top 14 final phases. I had left Paris to return to live in the Basque Country, a very rugby region, which allowed me to collaborate with many former internationals for the French team matches for which my agency was approved by the French Rugby Federation.

Padel fan for 5 years

I discovered padel five years ago, here in the Basque Country, through my tennis friends. Pascale Etchemendy, with whom I was at the Sport-études tennis in Biarritz, opened two padel courts in Guéthary, the club she runs, she was the pioneer here on the Basque Coast. I was introduced to it by Sandrine Testud, former world top 10 tennis player, and also a fan of the activity.

Nathalie-Bladou-Sandrine-Testud-padel
Sandrine Testud and Nathalie Bladou

I rediscovered certain sensations of tennis, a sport that I had stopped competing ten years earlier: like the touch of the ball, the volley, the cross forehand (since I play on the right), and above all I appreciated playing with a partner, exchanging on the court, talking to each other, moving together, this playing solidarity, which I did not have in tennis, the individual sport par excellence.

Transposing the rugby model to padel

I became addicted to padel at a time when the sport was in its infancy in the Basque Country
French, while it was already very widespread on the other side of the border, a quarter of an hour from Biarritz.
Here, there are still few clubs and therefore courts (or tracks) to meet a very high demand.
rise. I have played many times on the “other side”, in Irùn, San Sebastian and Santander, in
Spain, the Mecca of padel, I had the idea of ​​offering padel stays, a bit like
my rugby performances, in three superb cities: Santander, during the WPT, at the end of October,
San Sebastian and Biarritz, destinations with high added value, where padel trainees can
also enjoy the stay on a tourist level..

Padel, not a fad!

Padel has a bright future ahead of it, it is not a fad. We can see it very well in the Basque Country, in addition to former sportsmen (tennis, rugby, Basque pelota, etc.), this sport attracts a "new clientele", practitioners who have never played racket sports and who get into the game very quickly. Padel, where you can quickly acquire the basics, mixes both competitors, addicts and I would even say addicts, and those who want to practice it as a leisure activity, for fun, without any hassle. The games follow one another at a frantic pace and the tournaments are more and more numerous in the region.

A future offer to come

I would of course like to develop padel in my business and, above all, I want to create a padel offer for women. It is a sport mainly practiced by men, but in Biarritz, where I often play (at the BO club) I see more and more women on the courts. It is a great gateway for girls, who play less tennis, are probably less competitive than men, they want first and foremost to have fun. In my future offer, without revealing the content, it will also be about well-being, having a good time and enjoying the benefits of the ocean, since we are a stone's throw from the Atlantic. I will also focus on business seminars and team building, because padel, which is played by four, is excellent for team cohesion!

Embark on a prestigious padel holiday in Santander during the World Padel Tour !

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!

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