Yann Auradou: “You’re going to take care of me, otherwise say goodbye to padel”

Yann Auradou will have to suspend his season, because of an injury that he must treat. The one who shared the court with Maxime Forcin tells us about his physical problems and his actions to develop padel.

The comeback in 4 months

“I have chronic patellar tendonitis, one of which resulted in a tendon crack.

I have been dealing with this injury for five years now, which prevents me from playing to my full potential.

Before my PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injections, the pain had become daily and constant. It would occur whenever I bent my legs or jumped. So you can imagine how much it affected my padel practice…”

The habit of pain

“I had almost gotten used to the pain, but in the last P2000 in Perpignan, in the quarter-finals, my left knee gave out, causing a lot of pain. It was as if my body was telling me: “Hey man, now you have to take care of me, otherwise you can kiss padel goodbye.”

I received my injections on Friday May 26th. Today, I started my rehabilitation and I will be able to resume sport in a month and a half! I will resume tournaments in 4 months.

I'm going to take my time, because I really want to treat myself properly.

As a result, I have blocked my ranking for the time being.”

More 100% padel players

“The level has clearly increased in France over the past year. Previously, there were only 4 or 5 “professional” players who devoted their time to it all year round. Today more and more players are training full-time in Spain, and even in France there are academies where some players train between 2 and 4 hours a day.

Currently, there are around XNUMX players training almost every day.

For a little anecdote, when I won the P2000 with Manuel Vives a year ago, I hadn't trained for 10 days. A year later, I'm training more, and we almost made a "first" with Max Forcin against two players who train with Johan Bergeron at the All In. Then we were severely beaten by Maxime Joris (BIG PADEL) and Philémon Raichman (Spain), two players who play full time."

yann auradou and max forcin volley fft padel tour perpignan

No more miracles, you have to practice

“Before, it was possible to get by even without intensive training. However, things have changed and there are no more miracles. If you don't train, you can't hope to win against young players who are fully dedicated to padel. This is completely normal and logical! The sport doesn't work on the principle of tossing a coin.”

The average level drops

“Paradoxically, I find that the average level of P1000 tournaments has decreased.

This does not take away any merit from certain players, but there are P1000s in the provinces which are not of the same level as a P500 in the Paris region (or in other leagues where there are many players).

Previously in P1000 tournaments there were always Top 10 players. Now it is common to see P1000s where the highest ranked player is barely in the Top 20 or even the Top 30.”

Choose the tournaments you participate in wisely

“I think this is due to several factors. First of all, more and more players choose to participate in FIP tournaments abroad, which can keep them away from P1000 tournaments in France. In addition, many players decide to go to train in Spain, where the level is very high.

Another aspect to consider is the accessibility and costs associated with some P1000 tournaments. Some places where these tournaments take place are not easily serviced, which can lead to significant travel expenses. Additionally, it is well known that winning a P1000 does not always fully cover travel and other associated expenses.

It is also important to note that the ranking is based on the best 12 results, which means that players must choose the tournaments they enter wisely to optimize their ranking. The P2000, P1500 tournaments, the P3000 French Championships, the P1000 regional tournaments and the P2000 Interclubs already count for 11 results, which leaves little room for additional P1000 tournaments.

100% of the leagues at the French U14 Championships

“Regarding the Mission Padel FFT and my role as captain of the French youth boys team, it started a year ago. We have traveled almost all the leagues with Alexia Decheaume and Christian Collange, and the leagues are very committed to the development of padel among young people!

It's encouraging to see that last year, 70% of the leagues were represented during the French championships, and this year, we are aiming for 100% participation among the U14s!

We have set up a national tournament circuit comprising 3 stages, and many leagues have also created their own internal circuit. We organized a national gathering for the U14, U16 and U18 categories.

We will also have a meeting against Catalonia during the World Padel Tour From toulouse.

The big deadline for young people is the World Junior Championship in Paraguay in November.

I am convinced that the selected players will give everything on the field to defend our colors with pride!”

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.