Those convened for the Internship of the French team of padel

The annual internship of the French team of padel will take place from May 8 to 10 at Esprit Padel Lyons. A date that was not chosen at random, since we will have from May 10 to 12, the second stage of the FFT Padel Tour Lyons.

Patrick Fouquet, the captain of the ladies' team and Alexis Salles, captain of the men's team, have come together to call the players who will compose this Team France training camp.

Players called

We will have 12 or 13 players for this camp in the girls. Alix Collombon, having not yet definitively confirmed his presence following his calendar padel on the professional circuit. Charlotte Soubrié and Amélie Feaugas are the two new faces of this enlarged France team. Patrick Fouquet, the captain, wants to test them during this course. There will therefore be a little pressure for these two players who must show that they can be an asset for the future France team. Mai Vo is the big missing from this workshop. She has to forfeit because of her injury this weekend.

Alix Collombon / Jessica Ginier
Laura Clergue / Fiona Ligi
Audrey Casanova / Géraldine Sorel
Léa Godallier / Mélissa Martin
Marianne Vandaele / Charlotte Soubrié
Amélie Feaugas / Line Meites
Deboral Alquier

Players summoned

Among the men, apart from Mathieu Lapouge, there will be all the gratin of padel French. And yet, we can say that given the extreme competition among the men, it is a shame that there are not more additional places. Nicolas Trancart was summoned following the defection of Mathieu Lapouge. We necessarily think of the absence of Dimitri Huet, the partner of Yann Auradou, who was not called for this internship. Alexis Salles had to “make a very complicated choice. " Maybe Dimitri is paying for his small cut.

More surprising, Julien Maigret, who had been particularly attractive in 2018 and had not been summoned last year, is this year while he seems to have taken a step back since the beginning of the year.

"Julien Maigret, by his hand and his atypical game, can switch meetings. I am sure of it. And we want to see him in situation. " explains Alexis Salles

Maigret / Tison
Blanqué / Bergeron
Haziza / Scatena
Moreau / Ritz
Leygue / Trancart
Lopes / Authier
Auradou / Maigret
Boissé / The Panse

How did the captains work for the convocation?

Why do we have more players than players called?

A question that some observers ask. The captains explained that there were many more players than players on the circuit. The other reason is that the competition in men is harder than in the ladies for now. By mutual agreement between the captains, they made the decision to summon more players than players.

The method of operation for convocations

The captains also explained how to see this convocation.

First of all, at the ladies', as at the men's, there are the inevitable, those players and players who play on the professional circuit. For the moment, everyone agrees that they are leaders of the Team France in view of their experience and their work in Spain.

Then, the captains decided to summon the 8 players of the last French adventure during the World Cup in Paraguay last year. For the ladies, it will be necessary to reckon without Mai Vo who ruptured the Achilles tendon. Line Meites was called to complete the list of players called. Among the men, Mathieu Lapoupe could not follow up on his summons. On the other hand, it is Jérémy Ritz, who forfeited during the world that we see again on the front of the stage. To date, in spirit, he is in our opinion the 8th official man of this France team. But be careful because the competition is fierce.

Precisely, the captains decided to take advantage of this course to see new faces and to test combinations. Some players like Kristina Clément, Carol Ann Lovera and other players could have been part of this camp. But the captain of the ladies, Patrick Fouquet wants to see the side “of these new players who are making results recently".

Same policy for Alexis Salles who explains that he "must make a choice. We can not take everyone. And the purpose of this internship is to test, take risks and see if certain combinations can work. "

Some players are already well known and we know that we can count on them if something goes wrong in Team France. The internship is not an end in itself. Players who have not been summoned may be part of the France team.

Players not called

Among the ladies, we think of the 6th French player, Kristina Clément, who had some very good matches on the World Padel Tour. During the French Championships, she had shown self-sacrifice and exceptional physique. Carol Ann Lovera, Virginie Pironneau and other players are also not very far. However, the pool is less dense than with the men for the moment.

For men, the list is very long. Jérôme Ferrandez, one of the very best French players, able to play on the left as well, Dimitri Huet, 3rd at the French championships of padel 2018 and partner of Yann Auradou, Yoann Romanowsky / Eric Quillet, a pair that is making more and more noise in the French landscape, Florian Valsot who could one day see himself called for an internship in the France team, as his profile is atypical (If the physique does not play tricks on him as at the Open Padel Riviera Mougins this week)… Cédric Carité is still one of the best French players, even if he is less active on the circuit. Pierre Etienne Morillon, the Lyon player who played with Nicolas Trancart, the former partner of Johan Bergeron, who is not so far from the France team… And then we also think of Lilian Fouré, the new generation who grows and who shows that he too can knock on the door ...

More generally, among the men, in the top 30, the competition is fierce and it is certainly a real headache for captain Alexis Salles to make the right choice.

The most important: "There is nothing definitive"

This is the main message that the two captains wish to pass to all the summoned and un-summoned players. "Nothing is fixed. The internship allows us to do tests. There is a world in two years. And that's our main goal. The European Championships are a step. And we want to take advantage of this little time to offer the best team in France possible". conclude Alexis Salles and Patrick Fouquet.

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.