Who can truly compete with the pair composed of Bastien Blanqué and Thomas Leygue during the French championships which begin this Friday at the 4thPadel from Strasbourg? The question deserves to be asked, especially since observers are unanimous: in a recent survey conducted by Padel Mag, more than 8 out of 10 readers (81%) believe that Blanqué and Leygue are well on their way to achieving the triple (opinion elsewhere shared by Adrien Maigret). There are many factors that support their announced domination, thus raising at least two important questions.

Seurin Maigret Bordeaux
Julien Seurin and Adrien Maigret will be associated with the 2024 French Championships

1- Frozen team compositions… at the wrong time?

Looking closely at the list of pairs qualified for these French championships, a legitimate question arises: is this list still relevant to the issues ? Arrested in March, the team compositions sometimes seem staggered six months later. Many players have indeed evolved in their projects, sometimes changing partners several times since then. However, padel being a team sport where the communication and understanding are crucial (a nod to the passage to Jean-Michel Pequery…), it is legitimate to wonder what the level of performance will be of a pair who have not played together for several weeks… and who have sometimes lost the desire to do so! 

theard pech P2000 victory arcachon
Théard and Pech a pair who are in the top 30 and whose qualification could not be validated

2- League selection: an egalitarian approach… which disadvantages the best?

Another question raised before these championships: is the selection system based on regional championships really beneficial for the general level ? This method of qualification can have a double effect: in the strongest leagues, only the best come out, thus excluding well-ranked pairs from the national level; conversely, in weaker leagues, qualification can be obtained with less difficulty.

Let's take the example of the pair Benoît Théard / Thibaud Pech. According to Théard, " The qualification system is detrimental to the quality of the French Championships "During the regional phases of Occitanie, this pair, seeded n°1, lost in the semi-final against the young hopefuls Timéo Fonteny and Yann Boronad (TS3), thus finishing 3rde. Could Théard and Pech hope for a draft? No, because the system favors the second in each league, regardless of the national ranking (currently, Théard is 21e and Pech 28e). "It's hard to accept," the first confided to Padel Magazine a few days ago, after seeing his wild card request rejected. "This tournament represents the culmination of a lot of effort for us (...) and we make many sacrifices every day to maintain our ranking, while managing a family life and a job."

3 - A paradox with the sportsmanship?

This is not about judging whether the method applied is good or not, because the FFT assumes its choice, which is understandable: The goal is to develop all leagues. If, tomorrow, only “the best pairs” are selected, some leagues could disappear from the French Championships, and that would be regrettable. Wouldn’t there be a more balanced approach, which would allow both to promote all the leagues and to take into account the best French pairs?

One may also wonder whether there is not a form of paradox with sportsmanship supposed to animate the French championships. In theory, a national competition should crown the best of the season, especially since this tournament is stamped P3000 and offers many points for the annual ranking. But in practice, it appears that not all the pairs involved are not necessarily in a dynamic of a common sports project, and that the selection system favors a egalitarian approach between leagues, sometimes to the detriment of competitiveness.

Should we not, in the future, consider more flexibility in the registration dates and also take into account the top ranked pairs at the national level? Padel being a sport in full development, it is legitimate to think that adjustments will be brought in the future. Until then, the matches that will take place this weekend at 4Padel from Strasbourg will not fail to make us vibrate, with perhaps a few surprises at stake. 

Stay tuned!

Frederic Theulé

Not a day goes by without a line… of padel court! For a few years now, Frédéric has decided to devote himself to his lifelong passion: the little yellow ball and its merciless world. Addict, did you say addict?

On the same subject

Tags