From 8 to 10 September in the central square of the pink city, Toulouse where the grandmothers love the castagne (Claude Nougaro), the director of the Tournament, Claude Baights has the intention to animate the debates with remarks by moment very strong.

He has indeed a clear opinion. For him, the padel is a "danger for tennis but also a springboard and the sport of tomorrow".

He tells you why.

Claude for you Tennis and Padel  are enemies forever?

You have to be incompetent not to warn the presidents of tennis clubs of the danger of setting up the Padel in their club.

We can put padel in tennis clubs of course, but it has to be thought out and carried out by professionals. And they exist. It is from this moment that tennis and padel will marry perfectly.

Why say that?

I'll give you at least 10 good reasons:

1 / Tennis and Padel are the two most opposed racket sports, one is Anglo-Saxon and the other Latin. The creators did not have the same approach when codifying the two disciplines.

2 / On the material side, it has nothing to do between tennis and padel.

3 / The tennis court and the Padel : Dimensions: 648 to 800 m2 for tennis and 200 m2 for Padel. " sprinter against runner ».

4/80% of tennis is played in singles, while the Padel is played 90% in doubles. " Individual sport and team sport ».

5 / In tennis, the face-off is done by throwing the ball from the bottom upwards and hitting it above the head; at Padel drop the ball down and hit it below the belt.

You start to get a clear idea of ​​what to expect by introducing the padel within your club?

6 / In tennis the lift is a weapon to keep the opponent on the defensive. At Padel it is the chop which is used to hamper the opponent. " Caution danger for your tennis school ».

7 / In tennis, you hit the ball from the bottom after having prepared as much as possible. At padel in all cases the preparation is short or even very short. "AIE-AIE for teachers".

8 / In tennis we go towards the ball in almost all phases of the game while in Padel on the contrary, in certain phases of the game, we will move away from the ball or even turn our backs on it.

9 / Compare the Tennis smash and the bandeja au Padel ; their techniques are very different. " Who will destroy the individual technique of the other? »

10 / The doubles in tennis is won by relying on good servers (ace) and on great aggressiveness from the start. Padel serve is not a source of ace and the first exchanges are more like the vision of a chess player.


And on teaching padel, what do you think ?

It is necessary that tennis teachers do not start teaching the Padel only after 2 to 3 years of continuous training at a rate of 200 hours per year. We do not take the path. Quite the contrary. With 0 hours of training padel, a tennis teacher can legally teach tennis padel...

On the other hand, a competent player and teacher who does not play tennis will not be able to teach tennis. padel. Find the mistake.

How many are willing to pay for real training? 10-100- 1000…. Place your bets !

The officials in charge of controlling padel are not competent?

When I see the state of the current tennis court park, I get worried. Without wanting to shoot the ambulance: Who will you build it on your trail Padel ? and according to what standard? and with what subsequent guarantees?

Current counselors are neither technicians nor payers.

What are your ideas?

The answer will be given to you during the French Open and the European Cup of Padel by Padel Consortium, French professional in the management of Padel 20 over years.

We will spend 1 whole day with all the stakeholders of the clubs, leaders, technicians, architects, control office, your teachers and your financiers so that you make the right decision for your club.

I have a team and to my credit more than 1700 tennis courts and the organization of the biggest tournaments or international exhibitions of tennis.

I created the Padel French and participated in 5 world championships within the FIP and in the organization of the world in 2000 in Toulouse; not to mention the 200 tracks of Padel all developed with the best French engineers and all certified by the largest French standards control bodies.

“My goal is to reconcile Tennis and Padel by making them play in your club. "

You create a new model for clubs ?

At the French Open and the European Club Cup we will present the new model of the development of padel European in partnership with club managers, business leaders, tour organizers, while always being in contact with the International Federation of Padel as with all the other structures that do so much for the padel.

Interview by Franck Binisti
Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.

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