Robin Haziza, the truthful interview

Robin Haziza, reappointed at the end of February as coach of the French women's team, offers us an exceptional interview.

It allows us to relive in real time the situations in which he had to make choices before the famous 2022 World Cups.

After 7th place in the French ladies' team, a shower of criticism fell on his shoulders. A period far from obvious. Today, He answers them point by point, and with an open heart.

A counter-performance that is played out for not much

“The 2022 Worlds in the Emirates is a poor performance which, I remind you, is not played out very much one way or the other.

If some saw France as a "very strong" nation before this World Championship following previous results (World in Qatar and Europe in Marbella), it should be remembered that during these two competitions, Portugal and Sweden were not not present and during the Europe, we avoided Italy in the half, which allowed us to go to the final and therefore to finish 2nd.

I didn't brag

“I never boasted when the France team had finished vice-champion of Europe, just as I am not over-dramatizing after the Dubai championships.

I know how much the other nations are working and progressing and every day the gap between all the countries is getting closer apart from Spain and Argentina.

This observation is valid for women but also for men with this magnificent 3rd place who seemed untouchable three years ago.0

There is obviously disappointment but above all the desire to take a real turn and give ourselves the means to do better than in 2022.”

I proposed an action plan

“Dialogue with Arnaud Di Pasquale [Director of the mission padel at the FFT] is very fluid, he was present in Dubai as close as possible to the team, he saw like all of us that the nations are progressing and that we had to give ourselves the means to do better.

So I was able, from the worlds, to talk with Arnaud and Eric (Largeron). I proposed an action plan to them, presented my vision of the padel women in France and the axes of development, they are completely aligned with me and have decided to renew me. I thank them warmly.”

The FFT sent a real message

“I believe that Arnaud and Eric are aware of a lot of things, they don't stop at the simple result and value the work done.

They want to prepare for the future, the FFT has sent a real message by supporting internationally oriented projects and that's also what motivated me!

We all really want a high-performance French team, it takes a little time but the project is being put in place.

I don't cling to my seat

“I'm under contract for a year like all captains, I'm not clinging to my seat.

I am very serene and delighted to be able to support the girls in this new era and if another takes my place in 2024, I hope he will have a good basis to continue the work.

With if…

“Magic wands don't exist, so it's hard to play the IF game….

Laura (Clergue) crystallizes all the attention. With her, could we have done better? Maybe, maybe not…

Elodie (Invernon) and Mélissa (Martin) or Léa (Godallier), who played on the left, did not steal their place. They also played well all year.

We also have Jessica Ginier, a must in the team, yet not present for happy family reasons (young mother).

And why not Mai Vo, who had an incredible World Cup in Qatar, but she decided to stop...

You understood, we can't rewrite history, these are my choices made in full consciousness. I did them in the most consistent way possible at the time of the decision that was imposed on me for the selection.

My choice was Jessica Ginier

“My choice was to go with Jessica Ginier, whom everyone knows. For once, I'm sure we would have had a different result.

I respected his decision 100%, his family life and his need to be 100% ready to return to the French team.

And the future proves her right, because she is making a spectacular comeback. She wins the premier FFT Padel Tour of the season. And I remember that she had taken, alongside Lucile Pothier, a set from Alix and Léa during the last French Championships.

Match order is not controllable

“During this World Cup, we certainly lacked success. It's like that. What is obviously not controllable is the order of the matches. The placement of pairs can turn an encounter around. And that's what happened.

If Alix and Charlotte had played in match 2 against Sweden or against Belgium, we wouldn't be here discussing...

But if the Belgian coach had made other choices, we would come back to the same stage.

We can clearly see here that, unfortunately for France, we lacked success. Sometimes we have been happy in the past as I explained in our previous championships. Not this time.”

Playing our best players on the left

“The axis of evolution I believe, given the level which is tightening, is to make our best players play on the left even if, over the year, they play on the right.

I am thinking of Alix who, after these World Cups and this disappointment, is more open today to moving to the left, in the interest of the team. This is also the case for Léa, by the way.

Alix is ready to fight on the left. We discussed this together and I believe that it is one of the axes of evolution according to the players from the right and from the left selected and the complementarity on the ground, of course.

Léa, this year, is also playing on the left with Carolina Orsi, a left-handed Italian, that can give ideas for our team.

Alix Collombon Léa Godallier Qatar 2020 discussion

I challenge you to find an unrelated captain in the padel ?

“Thank you for the question concerning my different hats and the possible conflicts of interest Padel Open and C+ commentator]. It's a very interesting subject and I'm going to answer it without language.

First, in the industry padel in France, as it is today, I challenge you to find a captain who has no direct link with the players.

Le padel is not developed enough for the FFT to assign a captain for the year without the latter having a job on the side.

I have a contractual mission of 30 days for my role as captain, i.e. four P2000s, the French Championships, one or two training courses with the girls, a few tournaments to supervise and the ten days of international competition, what should I do during the other 335 days of the year?”

The FFT cannot assign a coach for the year

"Let's admit, I do something other than padel. What will we say? the captain is not in the padel, he doesn't know anything, he can't manage a France team...

The captain in France, to date, is either a coach of players like Pablo Ayma, who trains some players on his team all year round. And the least we can say is that his work worked well, right? I remind you that he had been criticized because some felt that he was going to favor his players… it's not knowing the boy well!

A captain can be the director of a club, which necessarily has a link with the players, if only to represent the club in the French team championships.

If he is commercial for a racket brand, he will necessarily have female players in his team of ambassadors...

Where I'm coming from: the FFT can't assign a coach all year round, travel the world like Grosjean or Benneteau do in tennis… we're not at that stage. It is therefore necessary to work on the side… The day when this will be possible, then that will mean that the padel has become essential in France with big means behind.”

Robin Haziza global smile 2022 padel dubai

Am I legit?

“I believe that the question that must be asked is: am I legitimate in the role of captain of the France team? the FFT thinks so. I was seven times champion of France, I played in the French team for 12 years, I coached Laura, Alix and others. I have been living in Spain for seven years having done the World Padel Tour and by knowing all the players, not to mention the coaches with whom I exchange regularly.

This course does not give me immunity, the France team does not belong to me and I am only passing through, others will take over and that is the logical continuation.

In the meantime, I put my expertise, my knowledge at the service of the team with a commitment at all times during my mission.”

If I didn't have the support of the players, I wouldn't be here.

“And finally, if I didn't have the support of the girls obviously I would no longer be in post, they were questioned, they too took stock of the last world championships but also of previous competitions...

I talk to them regularly and they know very well that without them, I could not carry out the mission, we have a common goal so we might as well work with the people who seem to us to be in the right place.”

Who can say that Alix is not indisputable?

“To respond to certain criticisms concerning a possible conflict of interest between my role as coach of the France ladies team and my role as an agent, I believe that things are very clear.

Yes, I accompany Alix Collombon within a structure that is not 100% mine. But who can say that the choice of Alix is debatable?

Moreover, we have not integrated other players into the structure precisely so as not to fall into the conflict of interest.

Finally, the FFT is very aware of the situation.”

Being a brand ambassador, where is the problem?

“Like many, I have a contract with a racket brand of which I am an ambassador. But where is the problem ? I don't think I've seen a player with a Slazenger contract and play for the France team.

And even if it were the case one day, do you think that because I represent the same brand I would select a player? Even in football, at Nike, it does not exist.

Director of Human Padel Open: a godsend for our French women

“Thanks to the Human Padel Open, the first Open of the World Padel Tour which took place in France, Fiona Ligi, Laura Clergue, Lucile Pothier, Jessica Ginier, Charlotte Soubrié and Elodie invernon were able to benefit from a wild card and live an international experience on the best circuit in the world... where it is almost impossible to participate in qualifying for lack of points to return.

Let me be judged on my work with girls, yes!

My activities outside the field which are related to the padel seem to me to be a prerequisite when you aspire to be captain of a national team and rather a good thing to live closer to the top level.

I had warned: the levels are tightening

“I was perfectly aware of the evolution of the padel feminine. I had warned the girls, supported by Alix and Léa who also know that many nations work well and quickly.

I say it again, Italy are very strong with eight players in the world top 100. Portugal was not present in previous competitions. And in Sweden and Belgium, the work and the explosion of padel in these countries offer new weapons to their teams.

This is very true for women but also for men. Ask the boys how they rate Belgium and Sweden today. Today they are direct and very serious competitors!

The Italians rely on a base of former tennis players who have been on the pro circuit for three years, the Belgians have also integrated girls from high level tennis.

It's up to us to put things in place so that we too can evolve, bring out new talents and make girls want to train, whether they come from tennis or not.

France Belgium Ladies World Cup 2022 padel Dubai

Le FFT Padel Tour did good

“This P2000 is good: a great level of play in the absence of Alix and Léa and the confirmation that new players are arriving on the national scene with a strong desire to move the lines!

It's very early to talk about selection, it was only the first tournament and the season is long, but this competition will be a driving force for the girls and will naturally push them to play better, to train more, to go international tournaments, at the risk of not getting on the France wagon.”

The beginning of a new era, like for gentlemen 5 or 6 years ago

“It's in my opinion the beginning of a new era, like for the boys 5 or 6 years ago.

Girls take up the challenge of coming to train in Spain and therefore progress. We saw the result in the boys with this team which evolved for six years to arrive at this 3^e world place, the holy grail in Dubai.

Among the girls, when Alix arrived, there was Laura, Léa followed but Laura stopped afterwards and for 2 or 3 years, no one had really started.

Camille, Carla, Elodie, Wendy live in Barcelona and train hard. I go to see them regularly. Fiona does international tournaments. Laura came to train in Madrid. Marie-Amélie and Laura Buteau do internships, as do Mélissa and Amélie…

I can only be delighted with this dynamic and I admit that it was a key element in my reflection and the development of the project presented to Arnaud and Éric, with whom we exchanged.

Carla surprises many people. Not me !

“Carla Touly surprised many. Not me, because I train with her from time to time in Barcelona.

More seriously, she has superb qualities to play very well at padel.

A background as a pro tennis player, a very safe technique, physically very strong and a very good mentality! She must now “eat” some padel to understand the game, to integrate tactical notions… she has only been playing for six months and she is already showing very good things.”

“Carla, player on the right, is associated with Charlotte Soubrié, who therefore returns to the left after a year on the right.

Note that in the France team I always made him play on the left which earned me some criticism. Charlotte is a left-sided player who certainly does not make par 3s at all points but who has a forward game and therefore corresponds more to a left-sided player.

Camille Sirex puts a lot of commitment and intensity, she also comes from tennis and trains hard, Marie Lefevre and Mélanie Ros, finalists, continue to progress in their corner: quietly, they are always there and annoy all the players, they are very complementary and play a padel confusing, very interesting.”

Louise Bahurel and Alison Carré: to follow closely!

“How not to talk about Louise Bahurel, associated with Alison Carré, whom I am happy to see invest a little more.

Louise makes very good matches, has a rare grinta and a background padel super interesting. Beating Amélie and Mélissa twice means something!”

“Let's not go too fast with her, let's give her time to progress and above all that she takes as much pleasure in playing.

She knows it, I follow her closely and I chat with her from time to time, just like with Alexia Dechaume Balleret who knows her well.

The captain that I am can only be delighted with the emergence of new players and pairs.

It's only the beginning of the season, there will be many deadlines, there will be great battles and that's good for the show and our national team.

I was delighted to see so many people in Bordeaux come to see the matches when it was cold, the padel is more and more followed and it's great for our discipline.”

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.