On the occasion of the conference of Human Padel Open which was held on Thursday May 11, 2023 in Toulouse, Tony Parker returned to the choice of the city of Toulouse to host this event or his game at the padel.

Toulouse, sports city

“I am in Toulouse to present the second edition. We had a first edition which was very satisfactory, beyond our expectations with 10 people in 000 days. Lots of support also from the city of Toulouse, in addition to all the people who supported us, so it was normal that we do this second edition here again. And so here it is, it's done now, we presented what we will do soon.

Toulouse, we know that it is a sporting city. There is also the proximity to Spain which made Toulouse the ideal place to start a tournament like this. And we saw it last year with incredible support, and this year, I think we won't have any trouble getting 15 people to come.

We are already at 10 tickets sold one month before the event. It's going really well and you can see the support from everyone here.”

Tony Parker Robin Haziza
MANTOVANI MICHEL

A basketball champion padel

“It's the sport I practice the most since I retired. It's very accessible, it's fun, so when my lawyer introduced me to Robin Haziza to try to organize the World Padel Tour in France, I said to myself that it's a growing sport and why not invest in it. I wanted to participate, bring my little stone to the building in the development of this sport in France.

I progress every day. I love training, I play every week. But of course, when you start, it takes time, but I take a lot of pleasure. I'm also lucky to be able to play with the pros in France or Spain, because I go to Spain regularly, that's where all the best French players are. So, thanks to Robin, who introduced them to me, I play with them and therefore inevitably, we progress faster when we play with the best in the world.

Right or left, I like both. In addition, I tell Robin each time to change, because normally we only have to stay on one side, but I really like to play on both sides so that I can progress.

Tony Parker
MANTOVANI MICHEL
Tony Parker
MANTOVANI MICHEL

In tennis, it takes a little time before you get pleasure. If you're not good at tennis, it's complicated. Or if you're playing against someone who can't play tennis, you're not having fun. While at padel, it's different as it's two against two. You can always have a player who is stronger and a player who is weaker, so you still have fun playing !"

Photo credits: TBS Education

Eleonore Coulibaly

What a pleasure to be a journalist in the middle of the padel, an attractive growing sport. I hope you enjoy the content offered. See you soon perhaps on the slopes!

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