This is part 3 concerning the chronicle of the Swiss army knife concerning women in padel. This part 3 focuses on the geographical areas where the female competitors are located and how to optimize the ladies' competitions. padel.

Geographical limits

There is demand and some tournaments bring together, without much effort, more 20 female pairs on a weekend! What relates to the ratio seen above, corresponds to 100 gentlemen pairs ... I will not venture on the fact that women are less competitive, etc. I stick to the numbers and my personal experience.

These tournaments have clearly seen and respected us as competitors. I will not go back on the tracks mentioned above, to know how to bring the players.

But there are also other reasons of course. It is indeed easier to bring together 20 pairs by offering a tournament in the south-east than in the north of France. If I refer to the figures of the article by Mario Cordero, entitled: Ranking analyzes of padel from March 2018it is clear that:

  • More than 20% of the girls in the top 100 are licensed in the PACA region.
  • 80% of these players belong to one of the following 5 leagues, in descending order:
    1. PACA
    2. Ile-de-France
    3. Occitania
    4. New Aquitaine
    5. Auvergne Rhône-Alpes.

Numerical analysis

Apart from Ile de France, the other 4 leagues are located in the south (except for the Catalans, be careful! The north starting in Narbonne. 🙂

So complicated to meet 15 pairs in Boulogne or Angers ... and even sometimes in Paris! We therefore regularly attend tournaments demoted to the lower category, due to a lack of a sufficient number of registered teams (P1000 are often changed to P500).

In men this percentage climbs to 85, for the same 5 leagues mentioned above. They are more, they move more, so do more tournaments ... so they are more numerous every weekend than girls. It's mathematical.

The men of the French top 30 make 21 tournaments per year on average (figures from September 2018); girls 15.

It is already more than one per month ... With enormous differences: from 5 tournaments in the year to 27 played for the women, and from 10 to 33 for the men!

As in any debate, there is truth and false ... as in any debate, everyone defends his point of view ... As in any debate, we await your reactions ... but for a debate to advance and be constructive, we must try to listen to and hear the arguments of others ... I count on you so that, together, we discuss more and better.

Le Padel : fight of the sexes?

Women and competitions

Line Meites

Line Meites is one of the best French players in padel. It's the voice of your live on Padel Magazine. But not only, she also hosts the column “Investigations of the Swiss Army Knife”. Every month, she will come back to a controversy or a theme that is close to her heart.