After detailing the reform of national competitions and the development of the French circuit, Laurent Aznar addresses a much more sensitive subject: the irregularities that have emerged in recent months in federal tournaments. Coached tournaments, phantom pairs, absent referees, strategic withdrawals, changes to the MOJA software, and new point systems: the president of the Federal Padel Commission explains why the FFT has decided to take back control of the matter.

"We shouldn't only talk about coached tournaments."

 Padel Magazine :  Following the announcements regarding P3000 and FIP tournaments, let's now discuss the more controversial topics. Coached tournaments have generated considerable discussion in recent months. What is the Federal Commission's position today?

 Laurent Aznar:  I believe we need to broaden the discussion. Coached tournaments are part of the problem, but they are ultimately just one element among many.

For several months now, we have observed various irregularities in the organization of competitions. These sometimes concern coaching, but also certain practices related to refereeing, brackets, or even registration.

All these situations end up damaging the image of padel.

And that is no longer acceptable.

Padel is experiencing exceptional growth. This success must not be undermined by behaviors that call into question fair play or the credibility of competitions.

That is why the Federation decided to tackle this issue head-on.

Man in a pink polo and white cap speaks into a handheld microphone outdoors at a sunny event.

"An action plan is ready."

At the request of federal leaders, a complete assessment was carried out.

We identified the main difficulties encountered on the ground and built a real action plan.

Today, this plan is being validated.

Once it is definitively adopted, it will be officially presented.

The objective is clear: to provide concrete answers to each of the observed abuses.

"Ghost pairs aren't the only problem."

Among the best-known topics is, of course, that of  phantom pairs .

But he's not the only one.

We also observe situations where some referees are not present at competitions when they should be.

Other practices also raise questions.

All these excesses have one thing in common: they undermine the credibility of our competitions.

It is therefore our responsibility to put an end to it.

"MOJA will help, but it won't solve everything."

 The new MOJA software is often presented as the solution to many problems. Is this really the case? 

MOJA will indeed bring several improvements.

For example, some operations that were possible with the old system will no longer be possible.

However, one should not believe that a computer tool alone will suffice.

It will always be possible, for example, to register a real pair that will ultimately never participate in the tournament.

In other words, the tool will allow for better control of certain situations, but it will never replace rules or human controls.

That is why our thinking goes far beyond simply changing the software.

"Last-minute bookings have become a real problem."

The other major issue concerns the  VO that is, the packages declared after the registration deadline.

Today, some players are waiting for the bracket to be published before deciding whether they will actually participate.

They observe the level of the tournament, look at the pairs involved, and then possibly choose to withdraw.

This practice creates a real domino effect.

When one pair withdraws, others sometimes follow the same reasoning.

In the end, it is the players who remained involved who are penalized.

And that does not seem acceptable to us.

"The new pricing structures will now protect the players."

To address this situation, the Federation has decided to modify the way the scales operate.

From  1st September 2026 The new competition guide provides for a much more protective system.

In practical terms, the number of points awarded will now be fixed from the moment the table is drawn up.

If several teams subsequently withdraw, the points system will no longer be revised downwards.

In other words, the players who remain in the competition will retain the benefit of the initial bracket.

This change will prevent some from being penalized by withdrawals that occurred after the registration deadline.

"We also want to penalize certain offenses."

 Will these new rules be enough? 

They constitute a first step.

But our aim is to go further.

We also want to be able to penalize unjustified withdrawals occurring after registration has closed.

Note, however: this is obviously not about penalizing a player who withdraws before the deadline.

The problem only concerns withdrawals that occur once the lists have been definitively established.

These behaviors disrupt competitions and directly penalize other participants.

Therefore, we want to be able to act.

"First, we need the right IT tools."

Today, this evolution still depends on the tools available.

With MOJA, competition tracking will be much more precise.

This will make it easy to identify repeated charges.

In the meantime, the referees already have a system with penalty slips.

However, we know that this procedure remains cumbersome to implement.

Tomorrow, information technology will greatly simplify this work.

"The Vichy example showed the limits of the system."

One of the situations that accelerated this reflection remains the  Vichy P1500 .

Several teams had waited for the publication of the bracket before confirming or not their participation.

The initial withdrawals then led to further withdrawals.

The painting gradually emptied.

And in the end, the players who remained involved competed in a competition whose sporting value and number of points had greatly diminished.

This is precisely the type of scenario we want to avoid in the future.

"Padel is evolving extremely quickly."

It is also important to be aware of the context.

In just a few years, the number of sanctioned competitions has exploded.

The number of registered players is constantly increasing.

The rules that were still working two years ago are now showing some limitations.

Our role is therefore to regularly adapt the regulations.

We must support this growth without losing sight of sporting fairness.

"Structuring development has become essential."

The development of padel is excellent news.

But the faster a discipline grows, the more rigorous its organization must be.

That is exactly the work we are doing today.

Our goal is not to multiply the constraints.

Our goal is to ensure competitions that are clearer, fairer and more attractive for all players.

It is in this spirit that the various measures currently being prepared have been designed.

 Coming up next: in the third and final part of this interview, Laurent Aznar discusses the role of the Leagues in harmonizing calendars, the increase in tournaments, exchanges with private clubs, the ambitions of the FFT around Roland-Garros and his vision for the development of French padel in the coming years. 

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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