What a tournament in Casa Padel this week-end, with the victory of Marie-Amélie Dardaine / Jennifer Denecheau and Damien Lozano / Pierre Perez Le Tiec, almost to everyone's surprise. What lessons can we learn from this tournament, and especially from the evolution of P2000 ?

First observation : It's not because the best French players are not present that the show is not there. On the contrary, it allows us to discover other player profiles. We realize how high the level is in France. The competition among the elite of the French padel is getting tougher and tougher. Many players train regularly. Even more surprising, the ambitions of these players in the French top 100, especially among the men, are high. For some, the goal is to reach the top 30, or even the top 20 in France. And even claiming a spot on the French team when you are above 30th place is no longer taboo.

For both ladies and gentlemen, the winners surprised.

One would have expected a victory for members of their national team, as Camille Sireix for France or Justine Pysson for Belgium. But in the end, it is Marie-Amelie Dardaine, back after a cruciate ligament rupture, and Jennifer Denecheau, still too little known to the public, who won this P2000 with brilliance. Marie-Amélie, often critical of her level, even expressed her satisfaction after the final. That's saying something!

In the men, Damien Lozano et Pierre Perez Le Tiec are in the process of “passing a milestone”. They have also confided this to Loïc Delmas during the post-match interview. Contrary to predictions, many had anticipated a victory for the Lozano / Perez Le Tiec pair, against opponents full of confidence, Timéo Fonteny / Yoan Boronad. Although the No. 3 seed was the favorite, the 12th pair of the tournament, without any particular shot but very consistent and fast in its game, managed to destabilize its opponents. Already in the semi-final, against the No. 1 seed, Nicolas Rouanet / Maxime Forcin, Lozano / Perez Le Tiec had impressed with his match management.

But that's not really a surprise. During the French Padel Championships In Strasbourg, Lozano / Perez Le Tiec had already surprised by losing with honors against the French champions, Bastien Blanque / Thomas Leygue.

Second observation : Despite the absence of the best French players, interest in the competition is growing. This was evident throughout the weekend, with an impressive turnout from Friday's qualifiers onwards. The club had a full house on Saturday, thanks in part to the presence of Cyril Hanouna next to Miguel Semmler, which always attracts a lot of people. On Sunday, the public was also there to watch the finals, and the show lived up to expectations.

Third observation : Top French players start travelling again for the P2000. We were even able to have Spanish players. Of course, organizing a competition in Paris makes logistics easier for the players, and we will have to see if this is confirmed over time, but it is a good point for this Parisian stage.

Fourth observation : Remote fans are following the competition with interest. Is this due to the effect Mondial, which starts in a week in Qatar? Despite the absence of certain figures of French padel, the level remains very high, demonstrating that there is a large pool of talented players.

Besides, it is Marie maligo, a Belgian player, who told us she appreciated the FFT Padel Tour for the wealth and number of competitive French players in this competition. Indeed, the average level is very high, and this is one of the strengths of French padel.

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.

Tags