Focus on a young player from padel very promising who could be talked about in the years to come: Thomas Leygue. Aged 16, he was at the Open Winwin Padel de Nîmes the youngest player to reach a quarter-final of a P1000 (Category padel highest). Thomas has ambition and already has a good game intelligence. He tells us his story ...

Padel Magazine - Your beginnings at Padel where and how ?

Thomas Leygue - I stopped tennis in 2016 after a serious leg injury (double fractured tibia fibula) during a football match. After 6 Rehabilitation Month

I chained on a pathology Osgood Schlatter * which prevented me from playing for two years (but I gained 30 cm in size!).

I took a step back from tennis. A team sport met some of my expectations. And in May 2016, the Aix-en-Provence Country Club built two courts of Padel… My old tennis club. I found this fascinating sport reconciling all my research and decided to invest myself fully in the padel. Jérôme Schaeffer was my coach. A All in Padel Sports (Bouc Bel Air) as in WinWin Padel in Cabriès, Jérôme allowed me to acquire all the bases to get started in competition.

The few training sessions I had the pleasure of doing in 2017 with Gaby Reca at the Beausoleil club brought me some interesting additions.

Did your tennis background help you?

Yes he helped me a lot.

I had an offensive game, rather stolen service and it allowed me to quickly assimilate the game of volley, half-volley.

I then learned the defense with the play of the windows and the subtlety of the smashes'Padel'.

Without a past tennis I could never have progressed so fast.

The practice of competition especially in Tennis Europe, also taught me to manage my emotions, stress and strengthened my mind and my maturity. This experience allows me today to manage the games or the points at big stake.

How do you see it padel to evolve ?

This sport is demanding but very fun, I'm sure it will develop enormously; we see it with the number of licenses which has multiplied by 5 in recent years. In my southern PACA region, clubs are growing like mushrooms: ten in 3 years.

It is a sport very easy to approach.

Super developed in Spain, it has a large margin of evolution. As we can see, it is developing in many countries in Europe and is beginning in the Middle East.

I can see it at the Olympics in ten years!

Do you think it will become more 'Tennis'?

No. Of course it's a game that will get faster but it will stay Padel, letting the ball pass and playing with the windows.

Do you think about the France team?

Yes more and more, I progress quickly. I saw that the breeders were thinking of me and I am very honored. I know that it is difficult because there are very good players in France. It will have to work hard.

Your ambition?

My first goal is to be in the Top 20 at the end of the year and in the French team as soon as possible.

I'm obviously thinking of the International, after the summer of 2019 after my baccalaureate. Until then I still have to work a lot and improve and I am working on it. At the moment I am thinking about how to intensify my training with the Fabrice Pastor team.

Your favorite shots

As we could see in my last tournament: The jump smash, the Par 3 and the dormilona.

Definition of a DORMILONA in padel

What you like least

The smash to the body.

Your favorite position

I prefer to play on the left but in tournament I play most often right because it allows me to play with more partners. In addition it has the advantage of fortifying my defense game, to make me work patience, the construction of points and team play

If we call you for the qualifiers for the World Championships padel

Obviously yes I will be very excited. In tennis I have participated in many international tournaments and it has been unforgettable experiences. I will also be very proud to represent France, it would be great!

With whom for the French Championships?

To date I do not know

Mouth shot

What is really bad already: No Championship of France, or Junior World Championship which would make visible and attractive to young people. (There is actually a world championship for young people, but France does not participate at the moment)

No French at the world championships padel minors. Serious?

Then, the French Tennis Federation should get involved in this rapidly growing sport. The FFT has no excuses since it is one of the most powerful sports federations in the world and the padel is exploding all over the world… It would therefore be necessary to better supervise it and at least allow all categories to be able to get involved in the padel. This sport deserves it.

The partner you do not like to play with 🙂

The type of player that I dislike most would be someone who plays too much tennis or lacks gnac.

My fighting temper would be hard to bear.

Interview by Franck Binisti

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.

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