In the new Competition Guide Padel 2021, the FFT has inserted a surprising paragraph which concerns clubs and tournament organizers padel and the ladies' events. 

The French Tennis Federation asks clubs not to forget the women's tournaments of padel in their annual calendar. For this, it relies on the Regional Commission of Padel to ensure that clubs comply with these regulations.

The intention is obviously very good. But :

  • Is this the right time to do so in view of the health crisis and the damage caused by it?
  • Should the FFT impose this on clubs? Does it even have the legitimacy in relation to the organizers?
  • Let's say that the FFT wants to apply this type of policy, isn't it done too soon? Is this applicable?
  • And above all, can we have results with this type of policy? And if so which ones?
  • Do we not confuse promotion of padel female (and therefore creation of new players) and competition?

Only 10% of female competitors

Before analyzing the words of the FFT and the competition guide, it is interesting to come back to what we are talking about.

Out of 11.000 licensees padel, 1.500 are women, or 13% of competitors, which we allow ourselves to reduce to 10% compared to the number of competitors who have only played once in competition over the last 12 months.

Roughly, 1 in 10 competitors is female.

We must add to these figures 2 important elements:

  1. The majority of female competitors are found in large metropolises.
  2. And in general, they do fewer tournaments, move less than the men.

Result :

  • There are (unfortunately) geographic holes with a virtual absence of female competitors over a good half of our territory
  • There is an increasingly important gap between the number of men and women competitors
  • The differences in level between the ladies are still significant and they can discourage some players from participating in a women's tournament: either because the level is too high, or the reverse

Clubs already very active on this theme

Paradoxically, clubs have generally been very active on this subject for several years by trying to organize padel ladies. What little we have we owe them.

The number of competitors in a ladies' event remains very moderate and often not very profitable for an organizer. However, although the clubs are doing a lot, the result is relentless today: there is clearly a shortage of female competitors.

Some players sometimes tend to prefer a men's tournament, for obvious reasons:

  • There are all the time
  • They can face each other at another level, play several matches
  • Ladies tournaments are sometimes canceled
  • This avoids playing the same opponents in each tournament

And the major P1000 and P2000 events meet with very moderate success. Tournaments are rarely 100% full and the level differences are too great.

Our opinion / our questions:

In our opinion, the FFT is making an error in form as well as in substance. This policy even seems clumsy towards the clubs by obliging them to organize ladies' tournaments. As if the clubs weren't doing the job when they've been investing in it for several years ...

How much will this policy cost clubs? Is this the right time to do it?

What does the FFT say?

The French Tennis Federation has focused on 2 aspects:

1. For the P1000: the clubs of padel which offer more than 3 padel must offer a ladies tournament in parallel. Please note, the FFT leaves the choice to the organizer to choose its category. Therefore, just because the organizer offers a men's P1000 does not mean that he will have to do a ladies' P1000.

2. An obligation to have a ladies' tournament after a possible succession of 3 men's tournaments in a row. Basically, after 3 successive men's tournaments, a ladies tournament is compulsory.

Here is what the Competition Guide says:

Any club organizing a P 1000 Men must offer, simultaneously, and if its number of pitches allows (> 3), a women's event in a category of its choice.

Any club having made 3 consecutive requests for homologation without any women's event, will have the obligation to propose, at the time of its next homologation request, a women's event of a category of its choice.

The Regional Commission of Padel will ensure that these rules are respected.

The reaction of the clubs will be brutal

Clubs and organizers are already particularly affected by the health crisis. This type of obligation for clubs risks having a boomerang effect for the FFT.

Indeed, if we fully understand the reason for this policy, it seems very complicated to force the organizers to do ladies' tournaments if there are people or too few to do so. Clubs have every interest in offering ladies' competitions to increase their community and above all to please their players. But what if the demand does not exist.

And we can not say that the clubs are not already trying ...

Our opinion :

Be careful not to throw everything into this guide to the 2021 competition. The FFT has worked a lot, and even reworked certain aspects of its regulations, but it is a shame to include this type of comments which tarnish many other themes. positive.

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.