Paris Major: Vives / Guy de Chamisso, the pair that could reshuffle the cards for French wild cards

The race for wild cards of the Paris Major It deserves a second look. The list published for the Paris tournament clearly shows a discrepancy in several French associations: Manuel Vives plays well with Olivier Guy de Chamisso , While Yanis Muesser is associated with Arthur Hugounenq .

This is a significant correction, as it completely transforms the Guy de Chamisso situation. He is ultimately not paired with an experienced foreign player, but with... 2025 French champion Manuel Vives And this 100% French pairing, which makes much more sense, brings together several criteria likely to influence the FFT's choices: youth, CNE, international experience and results.

Above all, this association is not theoretical: Vives and Guy de Chamisso have just competed together in the FIP Gold tournament in Belgrade. , where they came through qualifying before losing in the main draw to Alejandro Ruiz / Javier Garcia.

Vives / Guy de Chamisso: the almost ideal mix for the FFT?

The case inevitably takes on a new dimension.

À 26 years Manuel Vives already possesses considerable international experience. His trajectory was hampered, but the Frenchman is gradually returning to his best form. His 2026 season also demonstrates significant activity on the international circuit, notably with a title at the Singapore FIP Bronze , a semi-final in Samui and quarter-finals in Narbonne and Jersey.

But above all, Vives brings a particular legitimacy at the national level: he is reigning French champion , after his 2025 victory alongside Dylan Guichard.

Alongside him, Olivier Guy de Chamisso represents almost the other end of the project: 17 years old and one of the main hopes of French padel .

His 2026 season confirmed his rise to prominence. With Jérémy Robert, he won the [title missing] in May. FIP Bronze from Marnes-la-Coquette , his first title on the FIP Tour. The two Frenchmen notably saved a match point in their first round before winning the final 6/3 6/4.

Guy de Chamisso had also won the FIP Promises U18 tournament in Saint-Priest a few weeks earlier, again with Robert.

But there is one element in particular that could be important when making decisions: the CNE .

The CNE and Roland-Garros: it's hard to ignore the symbolism

Olivier Guy de Chamisso was part of the First graduating class of the Vichy National Padel Training Centre .

And when we go back to the words used by the FFT during the inauguration of the CNE, the symbolism becomes particularly interesting.

The Federation explained that it wanted to make this structure a tool to allow the best young French players to reach the very highest level. Gilles Moretton had even expressed a very specific wish: to see soon One of these youngsters will play in the Alpine Paris Major at Roland-Garros. Guy de Chamisso was among the first twelve boarders presented that day.

One year later, he is precisely the candidate for an invitation to this tournament.

It would be difficult to find a scenario more directly linked to the federal project.

But Blanqué/Joris have strong arguments

This does not mean at all that the road is clear.

Car Bastien Blanqué / Maxime Joris They too present a particularly coherent case.

On the list submitted for the Paris Major, they appear in 21st position on the waiting list .

Blanqué remains one of the leading figures in French padel and possesses international experience that very few French players can claim.

By his side, Maxime Joris is only 25 years old .

This is an important point when discussing the FFT's youth policy. The future of French padel cannot necessarily be reduced to players who have gone through the CNE, a still very recent structure. Joris belongs to a generation that simply hasn't had the same access to this system.

At 25, he can still represent the French national team for many seasons.

The comparison therefore becomes much more balanced than it initially appeared.

	Blanqué / Joris	Vives / Guy de Chamisso
French pair	100% French	100% French
Experience	Very important	Important with Vives
French team	Blanqué, a key player for the French national team Joris, Team France	Vives, French champion 2025 Vives, Team France
Youth card	Max Joris, 25 years old	Guy de Chamisso, 17 years old Manuel Vives, 26 years old
CNE		Guy de Chamisso
Recent dynamics	Circuit experience	Association already tested in Belgrade

And this time, it was impossible to distinguish between the two cases simply based on the nationality of the partner: all four players are French .

What if the real lever lay elsewhere?

However, there is another way to approach the problem.

Why use an invitation for qualifiers on a pair that is listed there? already directly thanks to its ranking ?

In the official list finalized on August 25th, Dylan Guichard / Clément Geens are fourth in the qualifying round , While Thomas Leygue and Jesús Moya are eighth. .

The FFT could therefore choose not to touch these two associations and use its invitations to bring in more French players who are currently waiting.

This strategy would potentially open the door to Blanqué / Joris ET Vives / Guy de Chamisso , rather than forcing the Federation to choose immediately between the two.

But that would shift the problem to the main board.

Guy de Chamisso directly into the main draw: is this already the right time?

This is probably where the discussion becomes most interesting.

A wild card in qualifying for Vives / Guy de Chamisso This would fit quite naturally into the current policy of the FFT: a French champion associated with one of the main young players from its CNE.

An invitation directly into the main draw of the Paris Major would be much more symbolic.

At 17, Guy de Chamisso has just won his first FIP and is now accumulating international experience. The FIP itself presented him, along with Jérémy Robert, as one of the leading young French talents after their victory in Marnes.

But should we therefore propel him directly into the main draw of Roland-Garros?

Especially when a Thomas Leygue or a Dylan Guichard , now more established on the international circuit, could also aspire to this promotion from the qualifications.

The question, therefore, may no longer be simply: Who deserves a wild card?

It becomes: At what level should each wild card be used?

A French equation that is much more open than it seems

And there are still other cases to be resolved.

Yoan Boronad / Jérémy Robert They appear in 20th position on the waiting list, just ahead of Blanqué/Joris. Two young Frenchmen together: here again, the profile perfectly matches a policy of preparing for the future.

Timéo Fonteny / Nacho Moragues appear even higher, in 11th position.

The FFT therefore has several levers at its disposal and, above all, very different profiles: players already qualified, the senior players of the French national team, the French champions, the young players from the National Training Center and the new generations who are progressing rapidly on the international circuit.

And the correction concerning Vives / Guy de Chamisso finally makes the situation much more logical… but perhaps also much tighter.

Because this pair now possesses almost everything the Federation could be looking for: 100% French, a French champion, a 17-year-old player from the CNE and an association that has already tested itself at the FIP Gold level.

Facing her, Blanqué/Joris can respond by Experience, continuity with the French national team, and Maxime Joris, who at only 25 years old, also belongs to the future of French padel. .

The official announcement of the wild cards, expected Start of the week will finally allow us to know the hierarchy chosen by the FFT.

And perhaps most importantly, to answer a question: To prepare for the future, will the Federation favour those it has supported since the beginning of its new project… or also those who have established themselves through another means?

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.