Paris Major – Women's Wild Cards: Touly in the draw or a chance for other French players? Padel Magazine

The FFT is expected to announce the following at the beginning of next week: wild cards for the Paris Major 2026 For the ladies, three invitations are to be distributed: two for the main draw and one for the qualifying rounds .

And as with men, the Federation will have to arbitrate between several approaches: rewarding current sporting level, betting on the future, supporting players from the French team or trying to offer Roland-Garros to as many French women as possible.

With one important difference: two French players are already certain to play in the main draw and a third is already in the qualifying rounds.

Collombon and Godallier already in the main table

There is obviously no suspense regarding the two best French players.

Alix Collombon , partnered with Ksenia Sharifova, occupies the 19th place in the main draw list. Léa Godallier Argentina's Daiara Valenzuela appears in 26th position. Therefore, they do not need an invitation.

The first real question concerns Carla Toully .

The Frenchwoman, partnered with the Spanish Xenia Clasca, currently constitutes the 13th pair in the qualifiers .

In other words, she too is already guaranteed, in the current state of the list, to participate in the Paris Major.

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Carla Touly: the most obvious candidate to move up?

From a sporting perspective, it's hard not to consider Carla Touly is considered a very serious contender for one of the two wild cards in the main draw. .

The Frenchwoman is currently 90th in the world , after reaching 79th place this season and 70th at the best of his career. On Premier Padel, it shows a balance sheet in 2026 of 7 wins for 8 losses , significantly higher than its ratio from the previous season.

She also reached the final of this year's FIP Bronze of Kaunas with Camila Fassio.

Above all, Touly already knows the level of a Major. In 2024, the FFT awarded her and Jessica Ginier a wild card for the main draw of the Paris Major .

She was also one of the eight French women selected for the 2025 European Championships, where France reached the final.

Based solely on the criteria of athletic ability and international experience, His candidacy therefore seems difficult to circumvent. .

But there is an argument against giving him a wild card.

Touly is already in the tournament

It's exactly the same paradox as for Guichard and Leygue in men.

Carla Touly does not need an invitation to play at Roland-Garros: she is already in the qualifiers.

Giving him a wild card would obviously allow him to bypass qualifying and enter the main draw directly. It would be a logical sporting reward.

But the FFT could also consider that it has the means to secure its qualification on the court and use its two main draw invitations to to bring in other French women who, today, are completely out of the tournament .

And the waiting list offers several possibilities.

Bahurel, the first French woman on the waiting list

The first Tricolore to appear is Louise Bahurel .

Associated with the Spanish Ivet Val Lopez , she occupies the 10th place on the waiting list .

His case is particularly interesting.

Only at 20 years Bahurel is currently ranked 119th in the world and won the [title missing] in June. FIP Bronze from Osaka with Ivet Val, precisely the partner with whom she is registered in Paris. The two players had dominated the final 6/4 6/0 and had not lost a set in the tournament.

Bahurel is also no longer a stranger to the FFT: in 2025, she and Lucile Pothier received an award. wild card for the main draw of the Paris Major .

She was also part of the French team that finished as runners-up at the 2025 European Championships.

And she is currently competing in the Mediterranean Games, where she is playing with Pothier.

Youth, international title this season, French team and Roland-Garros experience: his application ticks many boxes.

Sireix, Soubrié: the French women's national team is also waiting.

A little further on appears Camille Sireix , partnered with Belgian Helena Wyckaert, in 14th position on the waiting list.

Sireix is also no stranger to the French team. She was one of the eight players selected for the 2025 European Championships.

Same observation for Charlotte Soubrié , who this time form an all-French pair with Steffi Merah. They are 16th on the waiting list.

Soubrié was also part of the French team that finished as European vice-champions in 2025. She currently represents France at 2026 Mediterranean Games with Steffi Merah where the two Frenchwomen notably reached the quarter-finals after winning their first match by a wide margin.

Therefore, as with men, we find players who have already worn the French national team jersey among those who are not currently allowed in the tournament .

And behind them, a new generation is emerging.

The list doesn't end there.

Just behind Merah/Soubrie appear Lou Lambert Agosti / Kimy Barla , 17th, then Manon Marcarie / Cassandra Senjean 18th century, Marie-Amélie Dardaine / Clara Mansart , 19th, and finally Melissa Martin / Fiona Ligi 20st.

The FFT therefore has a fairly wide range of profiles.

It can favor players already established in the French national team, reward recent international results, or use Roland-Garros as accelerator for younger players and future projects .

This is precisely what can make a pair like Lambert Agosti / Barla interesting in its reflection, while Dardaine / Mansart or Martin / Ligi offer still other possibilities.

Obviously, not all of them can claim the same level of priority. But their presence shows above all that The depth of French women's padel is also starting to make the choices less obvious than a few seasons ago.

And most importantly: who should be given the wildcard for the qualifiers?

This is probably the question that should not be forgotten.

Because in addition to the two invitations for the main draw, One place is reserved for a wild card in the qualifiers .

And this invitation could allow the FFT to build a comprehensive strategy.

If Touly receives a wild card for the main draw, she will be removed from the qualifying list. Further changes may then occur, depending on the final rankings and any withdrawals.

But regardless of these movements, the FFT still has its wild-card qualifications .

She could, for example, send Touly directly into the draw and use the qualifying invitation to Bahurel/Val Lopez, Sireix/Wyckaert, Merah/Soubrié or another French pair .

Another philosophy: let Touly try to win his ticket on the track and use the two main toilets + the toilet qualifications for three other projects.

This is where the possibilities become numerous.

History shows that the FFT does not favor a single logic

The choices made in the last two editions are instructive.

In 2024, the wild cards for the main draw had been given to Jessica Ginier / Carla Touly et Lucile Pothier / Charlotte Soubrié , two pairs, 100% French. Camille Sireix / Louise Bahurel had received an invitation for the qualifiers.

A year later, the configuration changed: the two invitations from the main board reverted to Louise Bahurel / Lucile Pothier et Jessica Ginier / Chiara Pappacena , While Charlotte Soubrié / Fiona Ligi were invited to the qualifying rounds.

The FFT has therefore already rewarded French national team players, young female players, and Franco-foreign associations .

There is no indication that a 100% French pair will automatically have priority.

Two French players or just one per wild card?

The question, however, deserves to be asked.

Send an invitation to Touly/Clasca , Bahurel/Val Lopez ou Sireix/Wyckaert allows for the promotion of a French woman.

Choose your favorite Merah/Soubrié, Lambert Agosti/Barla, Marcarie/Senjean, Dardaine/Mansart or Martin/Ligi In fact, fit two.

Mathematically, favouring 100% French pairs would therefore allow the French delegation to increase much more quickly.

Corn (Mais) This criterion is obviously not sufficient to differentiate between applications International results, current level, potential, membership in the French group and the ability to be competitive in a Major league will also have to be taken into account.

And history shows that the FFT has never closed the door to international associations.

Touly and Bahurel seem to have serious arguments, but behind…

A few days before the announcement, a hierarchy nevertheless seems to be starting to emerge.

Carla Toully probably has the strongest sporting record to progress from the qualifiers to the main draw.

Louise Bahurel , the first Frenchwoman on the waiting list, champion in Osaka this season and already a member of the French team, also presents serious arguments.

But behind, Sireix, Merah, Soubrié and several young French women can also put forward their candidacy.

This is ultimately where the FFT's dilemma lies.

Should a wild card be used for to improve the situation of a Frenchwoman already guaranteed to play in the tournament Or, could this invitation be used to open Roland-Garros to a player who is currently on the waiting list?

And what happens next with the wild-card from the qualifiers?

With two invitations to the main draw and one to qualifying The FFT has several possible combinations.

As with men, the choice will therefore probably not be limited to determining who is the best player .

A decision will have to be made Which players and projects does the Federation wish to highlight on the biggest French stage of the season? .

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.