Thomas Mitjana, the former 20th French player, looks back on his current situation, marked by significant personal and professional changes. From his move to the right as a player to his new challenges in competition, Thomas shares a detailed assessment, his impressions of his performances and his partnership with the Spanish player, Iker Rodriguez. Find out how he is approaching this transition and his ambitions for the future.

Top 20 on the left, too complicated with my profile

First of all, a bit of context: this year, I reached the French top 20 playing on the left with Matthew Armagnac, and I also had a good season with Nathan Courrin. At the end of the season, we played a very close match in the French championships against Autier-Vincent, which we lost in two very close sets. Then Nathan chose to play with a younger player to pursue competitive projects in FIP, which was completely understandable. From that point on, I decided to move to the right, as I felt I had done the rounds playing on the left.

Going up in the top 20 left, I realized that this side requires a great ability to hit par 3s from very far away, which was not really my profile. My main asset being defense, I was limited in attacking on the left, while my offensive skills are much better for a right-handed player. So this change makes sense for me.

However, my move to the right came without any immediate opportunities, as players of my level or ranking did not want to take the risk of playing with me before I proved myself. So I trained on my own, working around 35 to 40 hours per week. Despite this schedule, I devote 10 hours per week of padel (about 2 hours a day), plus half an hour of fitness every day. In total, this represents 15 hours of training per week.

One main goal: experiment on the right

This year, I decided to put aside my ranking and play with friends, without a fixed partner, to train and discover my potential on the right. So I only participated in two of the eight major tournaments (4 P2000 and 4 P1500) on the French circuit. On the other hand, I took part in several P1000, for fun and to test different game combinations.

My only goal for the season was to participate in the French championships. Initially, I was supposed to play with Alexis Coulombeau in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, where we were favorites to win the regionals and qualify for the national championships. But since he was unavailable for the departmental qualifications, we were ultimately unable to participate. So, adding up the points missed from the major tournaments, I will probably be out of the top 50 for the first time in four years.

Return to competition with a Spanish player

At the end of the season, feeling comfortable as a right-wing player, I decided to team up with a Spanish player, Iker Rodriguez, who participates in team matches with Padel touch. He is one of the best players in Andalusia, but cannot afford to play the very competitive FIP circuit. This gave me an opportunity to return to serious competition, with a first conclusive test in a P1000 where we won our round of XNUMX match against strong players like Lilian Foure et Olivier Guy de Chamisso, in two tight sets.

The final of this tournament was particularly striking, because we faced Charles Gortzounian and Mathis Dupont, two players who put in a remarkable performance. Mathis particularly impressed me with his defense and his mastery of the game. Charles, who I watch closely, continues to progress and shows a level very close to the French top 20.

First title for Gortzounian / Dupont Brimbeuf at the P1000 of La Pala!

This year has been marked by big changes for me: marriage, imminent arrival of my first child, and taking responsibility for the development of the Padel at the Pyramids. This also explains why I put the competition aside a bit, but I feel ready for a solid return.

Concerning Iker Rodriguez, it is important to clarify that the Andalusian circuit imposes constraints on the participation of the best players, which limits his possibilities of regular competition. This is why he does not play the FIP and seeks to show himself in France, where competition opportunities are more frequent.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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