Thomas Leygue: “The calendar is almost unplayable”

Qualified alongside Bastien Blanqué for the quarter-finals of these French Championships 2022, Thomas Leygue agreed to answer a few questions asked by Internet users at the microphone of Padel Magazine after the meeting.

The status of future French number 1 that we stick to him

I don't take it with pressure. I'm glad people think that, of course it's always flattering to be in the spotlight and to be considered "the future ».

To be honest, it's a goal. There is a lot more competition than before (among the young people), whereas one or two years ago I was among the only ones of my age on the French circuit. Now there is Manu (Vives), Dylan Guichard, Julien (Seurin)…and then there are still others who are a little younger and are starting to play very well.

Afterwards, the objective is above all international. It's all well and good to be the French number 1, but over there you come back down to earth very quickly. Because apart from Ben who is having a very good season and who will tickle the final table a bit, it's true that for the rest, we are often confined to preprevias.

Here we have a little light on us, but when we arrive in Spain it quickly becomes difficult to pass the qualifications.

But in short to answer the initial question, I live it well (to be considered the future number 1)!

Rather Premier Padel, WPT or APT?

I am for " Premier Padel, because they respect the conditions much more for us, the qualifying players in particular. The “prize money” is much more interesting.

In any case, I hope that this circuit will take precedence in the coming years.

Then you have to know that the WPT has just made a proposal to us players. Honestly the situation is a bit complicated, we will see what the players decide (Editor's note: through the players' association).

The problem is that the WPT proposed a contract that somewhat forces those who do not earn a living with the padel to sign. It's a bit like, “I can give you money, but only you sign with me”. I think strategically it was not the best solution for them.

I know that the contract requires to play a minimum of 15 tournaments per year and that behind we are free to go and play other tournaments.

But it's true that to be on 3 different circuits as a player doesn't make much sense…even if the APT is completely outside the WPT and Premier Padel (Editor's note: because the players who participate are not often the ones we see on these circuits).

In any case, I hope that in the future there will be only one and unique circuit !

His next partner for the next WPT and Premier Padel ?

I do not know yet. I had a lot of proposals, I'm thinking.

Also the thing is that I made the decision to play on the right on the international circuit. I had good offers from players on the right, but the concern would be to have to go back to the left… so I'm still in the middle of thinking.

I think a little to a project with someone who lives in Madrid, who is about my age, the same ambitions etc…but I honestly don’t know yet.

The fact that the Worlds are taking place in Dubai and not in Doha

We were very disappointed initially that the Worlds are repeated in Doha, although it is true that I think it was the best World Championships in padel organized last year.

It was amazing, the experience was crazy. But going back there again…it would have been a bit complicated.

There, the fact of change and go to Dubai it's amazing. It's a crazy kiff. We are all really looking forward to going there!

The potential return of Jessica Ginier to the France team

As she was pregnant, it's true that it was complicated for her to be able to "compete" with her main competitors in terms of results and performance, but I think she will return to the France team next year if she continues this momentum.

I thought I heard that she was training really hard...so it really wouldn't surprise me if she made her comeback in the France team.

Et it will be beneficial for the French team, because Jessica is a powerful player, able to make the difference at all times.

And really if she manages to avoid physical glitches, she will again be one of the best French players.

The problem of the French championships in terms of the calendar

It's true that Jérémy Scatena and Ben Tison are right, because it's costing us dearly in our season. We lose points that are impossible to recover because you miss a tournament.

The most embarrassing thing is the sequence of all that which happened very quickly: the French team camp, the French Championships, the two weekends of the World Championships..we take off 4 weekends and it's much too complicated for us who are playing a ranking at the end of the season.

And the problem is that we can't afford to miss competitions: all tournaments count.

Ben (Tison) was playing for 55th place I think, he had done a lot of good results in the middle of the year. There he made two bad results and more behind he misses the WPT of Mexico (Editor's note: whose qualifications are disputed this weekend in Madrid), so at the level of the classification it is likely to be felt. By participating in the French Championships, he will lose this opportunity to play in these tournaments and earn points.

I would like to be able to play the French Championships next year, and that it does not coincide with any tournament. But it will depend on the calendar, hoping that it will be less busy during the next seasons, because it becomes almost unplayable.

But if the big French deadlines (French championships + P2000) cause us to miss so many tournaments, we will have to start considering not coming to all the P2000s and the French Championships.

For my case, I'm not 100% in this state of mind because for me the title of Champion of France is still very important. Even if it is true that winning the trophy without Ben (Tison), Scatena or Bergeron, it would no longer have the same value.

For example, when we won the P2000 des Pyramides this year with Bastien (Blanqué) we were the happiest in the world. But there was no Tison and Scatena for example.

And even if we played Inzerillo and Bergeron who are a pair as strong as us, or even Adri (Maigret) and Gaspar in the semi-finals, it was a particularly tough tournament but it didn't necessarily have the same flavor as when we had won the P2000 of Padel Horizon at the beginning of the year.

Nasser Hoverini

Passionate about football, I discovered the padel in 2019. Since then, it's been crazy love with this sport to the point of abandoning my favorite sport.