Present at  FIP Promises Paris by WME Nicolas Fauré, HEAD's director for France, Spain, and Portugal, who is partnering with the event for the next three editions, makes an unequivocal observation: French padel is still far from reaching its full potential. For him, the market is only just beginning its development, both in terms of infrastructure and the training of young players.

A tournament that impresses HEAD

By attending the second edition of  FIP Promises Paris by WME Nicolas Fauré did not expect to discover an event of such magnitude.

"Frankly, I expected to see a good junior tournament. What Guillaume has achieved is exceptional. It reminds me of the Petits As tournament in Tarbes for tennis. This tournament has everything it takes to become a world-class event for young players."

Beyond the level of play, it was the whole experience offered around the event that impressed him: a central track, a real village, delegations from thirteen countries and an organization that goes far beyond the usual framework of a FIP Promises tournament.

Training the champions of tomorrow, today

For HEAD, supporting this type of event also responds to a logic of detecting future talent.

"To have the next Arturo Coello or the next Andrea Ustero, you need the widest possible base of practitioners," explains Nicolas Fauré.

The brand already supports many young people from the U12, U14 and U16 categories, primarily by providing them with equipment adapted to their progression.

“At the beginning of their journey, we mainly help them with the right products. Then, each one builds their own project. We know that not all of them will become world number one, but we want to offer them the best conditions to progress.”

My Center, a strategic European academy

This desire to support young people has materialized in the partnership established between HEAD and  My Center .

The objective was clear: to create a leading academy outside of Spain in order to affirm the international dimension of the Austrian brand.

“The majority of the best young French players already play at My Center. There was a real synergy. We wanted to go beyond a simple equipment partnership by developing numerous activations around the players and the academy.”

The presence of Benjamin Tison in the project is also a strong element in the development of this structure.

France among the most promising markets

While Spain remains the benchmark market for padel today, Nicolas Fauré believes that France is now among the countries where the progress is the most spectacular.

He distinguishes three categories of markets: mature countries such as Spain, Argentina or Portugal; countries with very strong growth, including France; and finally emerging markets where infrastructure is still insufficient.

"France is clearly among the countries that will reach maturity in the coming years, and even near the top of the rankings."

"We are still in the early stages of the market."

While some are already wondering about possible saturation in certain regions, particularly around Bordeaux, Nicolas Fauré seems very calm.

According to HEAD's analysis, a mature market corresponds approximately to  a runway for 3,500 inhabitants .

"If we apply this ratio to France, we would need between 15,000 and 17,000 leads. We are still very far from those figures. Today, each new club also attracts new players. We are not seeing any slowdown in the market at all."

For the head of HEAD, the growth potential remains considerable.

"We are still in the early stages of the market. The next five to ten years should remain years of sustainable growth."

A vision that confirms that, despite the few  5,000 tracks now identified in France The development of padel in France is still far from reaching its point of maturity.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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