Philippe Belou, President of the Occitanie – Pyrenees – Mediterranean Tennis and Padel League, takes stock with us of the development of padel in his league, from the angles of infrastructure, competition and training.

 ■ The development of padel in Occitania.-  “The development is very different depending on the department, but it is exponential in Haute-Garonne, Hérault and Pyrénées-Orientales. 86 clubs have tracks and 27 of them are exclusively padel clubs. There are also two federal structures: the Balma league center and the Hautes-Pyrénées Departmental Committee in Horgues. In these places, it went much faster than in rural and mountainous areas, both due to the favorable climate and the proximity to Spain. I did not expect to see this sport take on such importance in our league. The Covid effect has been beneficial, especially for regions where padel could be played outdoors.”

“Mastering Development”

■ The actions of development.-  "The sporting aspect is managed by the Padel Commission chaired by Eric Largeron, in particular through departmental initiatives such as the organization of youth circuits, team championships as well as padel-company for the 2022/23 season. We want to support the development of padel by trying to master it. We don't want to put padel for the sake of putting padel. There is a logic in developing real padel centers and not an isolated track here or there. We want there to be a project around it with padel initiations, a life quite simply around these courts. And above all not to fall back into the trap of tennis in the 80s."

■ Future major tournaments.-  Occitania should host a whole series of high-level tournaments this season, including the World Padel Tour, the FIPs in Canet and Perpignan, two P2000 tournaments in Mas and 4Padel de Colomiers, but also the French youth interleague championships, the French championship in pairs, the national team championship 1...

“Today there is a shortage of teachers”

"The WPT is a done deal, says Philippe Belou. The same goes for the FIP Rise du Canet and the FIP Gold in Perpignan. So we are very proud to host the biggest international padel events in France. On the national side, we have had many French competitions. But this is explained by the very high-quality existing infrastructure. I think that in the future, other leagues will have clubs that can host this type of event."

Philippe Belou blue jacket during the prize giving of the last French championships surrounded by Eric Largeron Benjamin Tison Johan Bergeron and Arnaud Di Pasquale

■ The regional elite.-  The best players from Occitanie are the French champions Bastien Blanqué and Thomas Leygue, as well as Léa Godallier, Élodie Invernon, Charlotte Soubrié...

■ Training.- “In terms of teacher training, we are the first league in France to have set up the Title for professional purposes (TFP) and Federal Diploma for Padel Instructors (DFMP). This will make it possible to provide more padel teachers to clubs and an education and support structure to develop clubs. Because, today, there is a shortage of teachers.

■ Future padel projects.- In Foi, the construction of a departmental padel center project with two semi-indoor courts has already begun. In Nîmes, a project for a center with three to five outdoor padel courts is currently undergoing technical finalization.

■ The equipment aids.- The federal aid ADCP (Aid for the development of clubs and practice) makes it possible to co-finance the creation of tracks. Only the affiliated clubs are helped financially by this aid.

■ Strengths and weaknesses.- “The strengths of this sport are its attractiveness, the fact that it can be practiced by everyone and the conviviality it offers. The main weakness we will face is the aging of our league structures in a few years. »

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