In one year, he went from 350th to 38th place in France. Focus on Pierre Vincent, a 22-year-old Stéphanois with a devastating smash and a colossal physique.

Pierre Vincent is a player that we notice more and more in French tournaments. This player of just 22 years old has a size that does not go unnoticed and an overpowered smash that his opponents fear.

A former tennis player ranked 1/6, his main weapon was a service exceeding 200 km/h, but preferred to devote himself exclusively to padel. In one year, the Saint-Etienne player has made spectacular progress, going from 350e place française in February 2022 at the 38e today.

Now associated with the former French No. 1 François Authier, they almost reached the final of their first tournament, the Strasbourg P1000, only losing in three tight sets against Yann Auradou and Maxime Forcin, seeded 1 (watch the game here).

Just before their departure for Bordeaux, where Vincent and Authier must normally continue the P1000 then P2000 du 4Padel, we interviewed this promising young player.

Can you tell us about your beginnings in the padel ?

"I started the padel in leisure in 2021, at Padelshot, with friends and also with Simon Boissé, who had just arrived in Saint-Etienne. I started the tournaments in July of the same year, so it's been two and a half years. I was playing tennis then, but I stopped completely last year. I didn't have enough time and I especially started to play more and more padel. It was complicated to do both so I very quickly decided to do only padel."

What were your best results in P1000 and P2000?

“With Alexandre Boilevin, we won the championships of our League (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), which count as a P1000. In the final we beat Simon Boissé, my coach, who was playing with Jean-Thomas Peyrou. And with Alexis Dutour, we were once in the final of a P1000 in Saint-Etienne, when I was 180e and him not yet in the top 100: we lost in three sets in the final against Jo Bergeron and Adrien Maigret. It was a good surprise, we didn't hope to go to the final and even less to take a set from them. As for the P2000s, I only did two, including the last in Toulouse, where we finished 8e with Alexandre Boilevin. »

How did your association with François Authier begin?

“François plays Esprit Padel in Lyon, 45 minutes from Saint-Etienne, so we knew each other a little. And during the P2000 in Toulouse, he suggested that we do a test together and then the whole season if things went well. And that's the case so far, so we're off for a season together. Until last year, François played on the left with Julien Lopes, but he wanted to go back to the right. He was therefore looking for a player on the left, which is my case. »

With François Authier facing Max Forcin and Yann Auradou at the P1000 in Strasbourg Photo 4Padel
The young player trains a lot physically

You have an arm and a smash that can be described as exceptional...

“It's true that it's one of the strengths in my game, which allows me to earn a few points. When I first played, as it was my best weapon, I spiked maybe more than now. Since then, I have progressed and I have other weapons that allow me to finish points using less force. But in the game, it is clear that we avoid a bit of lobbing on my side, because my opponents know that the smash above the head is a strong point for me. Suddenly, it's François who has more lobs to negotiate, but he also performs well, so we are quite complementary. »

His strong point is the smash

Is your colossus physique natural or the result of a lot of physical work?

“It's a bit of both. First, I did a lot of tennis, especially in the academy in Lyon. And before that, I had a physical trainer in Saint-Etienne, with whom we had worked a lot on the development of my physical qualities. Since I had some predispositions, we reinforced them with a lot of work and it's true that it serves me well when I play. I mainly work on explosiveness, whether on the field of padel or in the gym, but without doing too much muscle either, because that's not the goal. »

What are your qualities and the points you would like to improve?

“As a quality, I would therefore cite this explosiveness which is very useful to me, whether on the upper or lower body, both for starts and to “send” over the head. But it also helps me in defense. The things to improve, I would say it's mainly at the defensive level, because I haven't been playing so long. But we're working a lot on that and it's getting better and better. »

What are your goals for padel ?

“In terms of rankings, I don't really have a goal, but I try not to set myself limits. The objectives would rather be to play international tournaments, this is something that interests me, to do FIPs and international tournaments this year. The main thing is to succeed in training and playing correctly and I tell myself that the ranking will follow.

Is becoming a professional a dream that you cherish?

" Yes why not. In any case, I train more and more in this direction. And why not also go to Spain, start with training camps and then come back to France. »

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme falls into the pot of padel in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves pala in hand! Journalist in Alsace, he has no other ambition than to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

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