Thierry pham is responsible for high level padel for the French Tennis Federation. He returns to the great news from padel French and the appointment of recent captains of French teams of padel.

The French Tennis Federation is continuing its investment in padel. "The French team of padel will be even stronger in 2020".

Padel Magazine â € “The news is catching up with us and the FFT has to face a great health crisis

Thierry Pham - The French Tennis Federation has to face an unprecedented situation. We have never seen this. Thursday, the President of the French Republic, was very clear on the message he wanted to send with the closure of nurseries, schools, high schools And universities ...

The FFT must therefore take strong decisions to prevent the Coronavirus from striking our practitioners, our clubs and our leagues.

The FFT applies the precautionary principle (Interview carried out on March 13th. News may have changed ...)

You and I don't know how serious the danger is. The President of the Republic called on everyone's responsibility. The FFT has a delegation from the Ministry of Sports and it must be exemplary. The precautionary principle must prevail. The decision to suspend all competitions was not taken with a good heart. We know that our decisions will have a negative impact on the economy of tennis, padel and beach tennis. The problem is much broader than our sporting sphere. This is a pandemic, we are talking about public health and the economic problem is global.

How dangerous is the Coronavirus really? Today, we are in the unknown and we must trust our governance. The community of padel must face up and yes, sports news will be very upset, like all the others.

The stage of FFT PADEL TOUR to El Padel Club and the gathering of the selectable for the France team are canceled

After President Macron's speech, the message from the President of the FFT is very clear: the FFT takes instructions at its own level and takes strong measures, responsibly. It cannot condone events that could increase a risk for the public and the players. These two events are under suspension from all competitions and gatherings.

If we believe the media, the peak of the epidemic should occur in late March. Other sports institutions such as the ITF, ATP and the WTA suspended all their competitions until mid-April. The FFT will probably make a general point during this period to consider the next events depending on the evolution of the situation.

Regarding the French teams, do we have new captains?

On Friday March 13, the COMEX officially validated my proposals concerning the captaincies of the French teams of padel in 2020.

Alexis Salles is therefore reappointed as captain of the senior men's team.

Robin Haziza replaces Patrick Fouquet and therefore becomes the captain of the ladies.

On the youth side, Laurent Imbert becomes the captain of the boys team. He will be supported by Sandy Godard. Finally for the girls, it’s Géraldine Sorel who becomes the captain with Eric Quillet in support.

I wanted to set up mixed pairs to supervise the young French teams. I am convinced of the interest for adolescents of both sexes to be under the responsibility of a man and a woman. You don't talk the same way to a man or a woman. This will offer more wealth in human relationships and in internal communication.

Patrick Fouquet replaced by Robin Haziza. A confirmed decision.

The decision was not easy to make. I have a lot of respect for Patrick Fouquet who did an excellent job within the French ladies team. He is a passionate person who gave a lot to padel. When I arrived, my job was to take stock and listen to everyone. Obviously, in the women's team, there was a desire for change and a unanimous consensus on the person of Robin Haziza. I took my responsibilities. It was not against Patrick Fouquet but for another person who was acclaimed by all the players.

Robin Haziza is one of the best players in padel in France. He would certainly have had his place in the France men's team in 2020. By becoming captain, aren't we weakening the France men's team?

Robin Haziza ticked a lot of boxes to be the captain of the French women's team of padel. First, he had already expressed the wish to become one one day. Then, his background and his experience are indisputable assets. Finally, the players demanded it.

When I offered him this mission, he knew that by accepting it, he was cutting himself off from a possible selection for men's French teams. Similarly, to avoid any conflict of interest, I asked him to end his role as agent for Alix Collombon. It was another sine qua non condition. Robin made his decision with full knowledge of the facts.

He no longer felt a staple of the French men's team in the medium term and to win his place there would have required that he invested himself enormously on the French circuit.

So yes, it is possible that this decision may weaken the French men's team a little this year. The good news is that there is a place to take for other players, why not young people that we want to see at the front of the stage.

To his passion and his love of the flag, Robin today has more to contribute as captain of the French women's team than of a possible member of the French men's team for the world.

In the gentlemen's room, Alexis Salles is renewed.

Here too, the choice asked me to reflect. There was no unanimity on Alexis Salles among the players I interviewed. No hostility either. He had not been unworthy in the past. I discussed all of these aspects with him. France is full of qualified people. Other names have been mentioned; I also received applications but none really stood out. It seemed more coherent to me to keep this continuity with Alexis Salles.

In young people, we therefore see pairs forming ...

Absolutely! It is a logical choice. With a constrained budget, the FFT gives priority to young people for whom we are responsible by strengthening the supervision of the French teams with a captain and a guide.

These young people will have the chance to be accompanied by great figures of padel French. Here too, it was not easy to choose the best combinations. We don't realize how surrounded by competent people we are. So I tried to build the best pairs, depending on the availability of each other.

Among girls, Géraldine Sorel and Eric Quillet have extensive experience in padel and in education. Just like Sandy Godard. As for Laurent Imbert, everyone knows what he represents in the world of padel French.

How did you go about organizing the high level of the padel French?

I made an inventory of the high level of padel French. I listened a lot and learned a lot. I was outside the world of padel. It was an asset. It gave me the necessary perspective to make balanced decisions.

The first two projects on which I focused were the supervision of the French teams and the 2020 policy to support the elite.

As soon as we talk about the French team, there are a lot of passions among the players. It’s normal. I was expected on this aspect and I took my responsibilities by making these proposals to the Executive Committee of the FFT, with the support of Hubert Picquier and DTN, Pierre Cherret .

At the same time, I worked on rules for the allocation of financial aid for players of the French elite by declining for the padel the International Projects system that exists in tennis. For this first year, the eligibility criteria were based on two prerequisites: a minimum FIP-WPT ranking and a sporting project resolutely oriented towards progression to the international ranking. This is how in 2020, the FFT will support six players and five players under agreement.

I am already working on the 2021 aid grid. Indeed, I would like to be able to present to our athletes the rules for the allocation of 2021 aid from the start of the 2020 season. Thus, everyone will know in complete transparency which objective to achieve in order to benefit from federal aid. Naturally, I rely on the captains of the senior French teams to determine the 2021 rules.

You who come from tennis, what is your first feeling on the world of padel ?

In the high level, I discover a universe of wonderful young people. They are passionate about their sport, actors in their project, they take initiatives, seek partners; they did not wait for the federation to advance. They have an exceptional state of mind. They are full of freshness. We want to help them.

I can't help but think that we would like to find this energy more often in certain tennis players. Reaching the highest level in tennis demands a lot of demands from the youngest age. In this race against time, the federation accompanies many young players. The flip side of the coin is that it sometimes happens that some of them fall into a form of assistantship and lose their sense of initiative. However, on the ground, we are alone to hold the racket ...

In the padel, we can say that our players are exemplary. They live their passion to the full without calculating. They are not afraid to take risks. I will work to ensure that the FFT accompanies them while preserving this state of mind which is their strength.

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.