We met  Pierrick Amount , the tennis and padel sports director of CAFC (Cercle amical français de Casablanca) during the 2nd edition of the International Padel Club Cup in Malaga. The opportunity to look back on the development of this “old dynamic club” and on the development of padel in Morocco.

Padel has overtaken tennis

“If the club has a dominance of padel today, this was not the case two years ago. Now, of the 1000 members, almost half actively practice padel, which remains ahead of tennis in our country. However, tennis is also experiencing a renaissance: there is therefore a great deal of momentum around these two sports.

The club regularly organizes non-sanctioned tournaments, with an emphasis on leisure. These tournaments are generally reserved for club members. However, a major invitational tournament was held last May. We plan to continue this dynamic next May for the second edition, which will be held from May 23 to 28.

Currently, although Casablanca was not affected by the recent earthquake, the entire country is rightly focused on helping those who lost their loved ones or their homes. The country is rebuilding itself with significant national and international support. The solidarity shown by the world towards Morocco is remarkable.

Morocco will soon host the CAN as well as the World Cup, in collaboration with Spain and Portugal.”

Team Morocco padel Casablanca

“Building a padel court is easy; making it live is something else.”

My motto is: building a padel court is easy; making it live is something else. In Morocco, many courts are being built, but many are not as busy as they should be. In the long term, a balance will emerge. At the moment, 95% of the projects are private. Having a padel teacher in a center is essential. Likewise, someone to energize the club is essential. It is important not to leave any player behind and to meet the variety of expectations.

For me, managing tennis and padel is the same: it is about finding a balance depending on the members. However, padel is much more accessible than tennis.”

Ratio ladies / gentlemen

“For example, in padel the distribution is 70% men and 30% women, while in tennis it is 90% against 10%.

In France, there are fewer female players compared to male players in padel, and I wonder if this is not a structural problem. In Morocco, many women work independently, while in France, traditional employment could perhaps limit their availability to play. In addition, in France, with the family workload, women have less support than those in Morocco where there is a tradition of help.”

Pierrick Montant and Claude Baigts

Aiming for 7th place at the CICP

“Like every year, our club participates in the CICP. This year, we have two teams in Malaga. The padel/tennis section contributed financially to the travel of these teams. This support is partly due to the success of the Open that took place last May. I would also like to thank OK Mobility for providing rental cars, thus facilitating the team's travel to the tournament. Our travels are always marked by good humor and the representation of the club, with a touch of competition. The objective would be to position ourselves between 7th and 12th place.”

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.

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