Here are the results of our survey dedicated to the following question: “Can padel coexist with other sports?” Once again, we extend a big thank you to those who took the time to answer us, often in a detailed and reasoned manner.

The first surprise comes from your answers to the question “Does padel go well with tennis within the same federation?” Indeed, a majority of 53,1% of our respondents think no, while only 31,3% think yes (the others have no opinion or answer “neither yes nor no”). Does this sound like a disavowal of the French Tennis Federation, in charge of padel since 2014?

Not necessarily. Indeed, when we examine the geographical origin of the people who responded, we see that around a third come from Belgium. However, this country is part of a open war between the official pro-tennis federation and a historical 100% padel federation. It is possible, and even probable, that supporters of the latter, who could be described as “padel independentists”, used our modest survey to promote their ideas.

This is why we remind you that our surveys generally collect a few hundred testimonials: this is much more representative than most press articles, but much less than scientific polls calling on panels of nearly 1000 people, representative Population.

Mixed federation or 100% padel?

That being said, let's go into detail and discover a second surprise. To our question about their ideal federation ("If you could choose, would your federation be 100% padel? Associated with tennis? With another sport?"), Two thirds of our respondents (65,6%) opt without hesitation for a federation exclusively dedicated to padel.

Among those who are in favor of mixed tennis/padel, some qualify their response. Greg, a Swiss player, says he is in favor of a padel and tennis federation on condition that it “put resources into padel”, estimating that a “tennis federation has a better network, more means and the possibility of making Olympic sport easier”. Conversely, adds Greg, “If the tennis federation simply wants to subjugate padel without developing it independently, I recommend an independent padel federation”.

Nicolas, a non-separatist Belgian, believes for his part that “in a small country like Belgium, it can be an advantage to bring together the two tennis and padel federations for the development of both sports. One has been established for a while with experience in competitions, local and international development. The other can benefit from this to frame its development, its expansion but also bring a breath of fresh air. For me, there can be a cohabitation of the two sports”.

As for Bertrand, from Toulouse, he is in favor of “eventually a 100% padel federation”, but thinks that “for the moment, the FFT is working rather positively for padel”, especially in terms of "communication (Premier Padel at Roland-Garros) and infrastructure development in tennis clubs, even if things are not going fast enough…”. He is joined by Fabien, a Rhônalpin: “A padel federation associated with tennis seems more relevant to me, especially in France with the media visibility of Roland-Garros and the associative clubs allowing the development of padel outside of the very large cities”.

Hell is not always other people

After your federation wishes, let's now come to the local level, the club: “If you could choose, would your club be 100% padel or not?” The answers to this question constitute a third surprise: only 43,75% of our respondents want a 100% padel club. A majority of people are not bothered by other athletes and, sometimes, appreciate being able to also practice tennis in their favorite club. Or to pool the facilities (parking, changing rooms, bar, swimming pools, etc.).

In other words, contrary to what Jean-Paul Sartre wrote, “hell is not other people”. Hell would rather be to be subject to the goodwill of others, to the arbitrary decisions that a federation deemed unfriendly would take...

Francis, however, believes that “The main thing is not whether the club is 100% padel. The question is whether the facilities are of quality or not and whether there is a club mentality to organize competitions, interclubs, etc.” The subject of "mentality" comes up in the words of André, a Belgian player, who “prefers only padel, where there is more conviviality”.

“Why marry padel?”

When asked about a possible “marriage” of padel with sports other than tennis, some of you mention squash, badminton, 5-a-side football, pickleball or even climbing. But many only see a possible union with tennis, or no union at all. “Why marry him???”, asks another Belgian, Julien, like a father refusing to marry off his favorite daughter ;-).

"Padel goes well with all sports, says André. In the 21st century, we are aiming for large sports centres that bring together sister disciplines in order to save money on the surroundings, parking, changing rooms, etc. However, each discipline deserves its own supervision both at the federal level and in the clubs. A tennis teacher who is not initiated in other racket sports is a bad squash teacher, just as he is a bad padel teacher. The same goes for management at the national, regional and club levels..

There remains the question of cohabitation with other sports, its advantages and disadvantages. On this point, opinions are divided. On the advantages side, you cite the possibility of doing several sports, of attracting other athletes to padel, of rationalizing spaces and costs, of having more welcoming facilities or of enriching oneself through contact with other people with other mentalities.

But you are also sensitive to the disadvantages: “padel generates more noise per square meter”; “football is much too noisy and does not attract the same population”; “it is not easy to mix different mentalities”; “in large complexes, it is complicated to combine leisure and competition without losing the identity of the place and by having qualified staff, who master their subject”.

So many subjects already mentioned in our survey on the “ideal club” and on which you can give your opinion at the bottom of this article or, very soon, on our Facebook page.

aerial view Complexe-martinique-Ligue-de-tennis-2022-
A complex where sports mix

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme fell into the padel pot in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves with a pala in hand! A journalist in Alsace, his only ambition is to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

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