Jules Marie: From an ATP Career to the Padel Adventure

Jules Marie, a former professional tennis player who reached No. 203 in the ATP world rankings, left the ATP Tour in March 2025 to make a bold switch to padel. At 33, this French tennis player and video creator, with more than 130,000 subscribers on YouTube, represents a new generation of players drawn to this rapidly growing sport in France. Ranked 64th in France in January 2026, he is pursuing his ambitious goal of reaching the top 10 and joining the French national team.

The story of an extraordinary career change

Jules Marie's switch to padel is much more than a change of sport. It follows an emotionally rich career as a professional tennis player, marked by remarkable performances on the ATP Tour and unwavering determination. Now, this Normandy player is bringing his experience and technique to a new challenge that could take him all the way to the French national team in padel.

A remarkable tennis career

A promising start

Born on 1 September 1991 in Caen, Jules Marie discovered tennis at an early age. In 2004, playing at the club in Mondeville, he already held a ranking of 15/3 at just 13. His progress was rapid: in 2009, ranked -4/6, he qualified for the French 17–18 championships at Roland-Garros.

The year 2010 marked a turning point in his career: ranked -30, he helped the French university tennis team win the world title, with victories in both singles and doubles in the final against the United States. He ended the year 780th in the ATP rankings, signalling his arrival on the professional circuit.

The years on the ATP Tour

Between 2011 and 2025, Jules Marie played on the ATP Tour, competing in a succession of Futures and Challenger tournaments. In 2012, he won his first Futures titles in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. 2014 was a high point, with four Futures titles and a memorable stint as a practice partner at the Masters in London, where he trained with his idol Roger Federer.

In 2015, he reached 228th in the world, his highest ranking at the time, before taking a break because of the costs of competing on the international circuit. He then limited himself to French tournaments while studying physiotherapy and teaching tennis at the club in Montrouge.

The YouTube phenomenon and the comeback

In 2019, Jules Marie made a spectacular return to his career by documenting daily life on the Futures and Challenger circuits on his YouTube channel. His project, "Grand Slam Goal", became a success, allowing him to fund his dream while sharing a behind-the-scenes look at professional tennis with unprecedented openness.

His victory at the Caen Open in December 2021 against David Goffin, then ranked 39th in the world, reignited his ambitions. In 2024, he reached his career-high ATP ranking of 203rd in the world, fulfilling his dream of competing in qualifying for Grand Slam tournaments.

In qualifying for the Australian Open in January 2024, he beat Benoît Paire (7-6, 6-4) in the first tour for his first win in Grand Slam qualifying. In February, at the Challenger 75 in Tenerife II, he reached the semi-finals, coming close to the ATP top 200.

The decision to leave tennis

In early 2025, at the age of 33, Jules Marie announced his decision to leave the ATP Tour. In a video on his YouTube channel, which has 130,000 subscribers, he said: "This is the end of the ATP Tour for me. It's been an incredible adventure, but it's time to move on. And that new challenge is padel!"

The decision was no accident: "I was relieved to stop. It was really starting to weigh on me. It was getting harder and harder, physically and mentally", he explains. After 28 years of tennis, the Normandy player felt the need for a fresh start, and padel offered him that opportunity.

The switch to padel

A gradual discovery

Jules Marie's first padel session was in 2012 at the Tecnifibre camp at Mouratoglou, but it did not really grab him at the time. It was during training in Caen in December 2024 that he rediscovered the sport: "There's a good group of padel players here, and I play with quite a few friends", he says.

Some of his friends challenged him: "Some told me I'd never make it into the top 100 French players". Far from discouraging him, the comment gave him extra motivation to take competition seriously.

Early tournament victories

In December 2024, while still playing tennis, Jules Marie won his first two P500 tournaments in Caen and Dreux alongside Hugo Ferion, a top-300 French player. These immediate successes reinforced his decision to switch to padel professionally.

In early March 2025, after formally ending his ATP career, he threw himself into his padel project. His goal was clear: win his twelve best P500 tournaments to maximise his ranking, then move on to P1000 and P1500 events.

A meteoric rise on the French circuit

The first months of competition

Jules Marie started at around 550th place when he announced his switch to padel in early March 2025, thanks to a ranking equivalence assigned by the FFT based on his tennis ranking. This equivalence allowed him to enter P500 tournaments directly, bypassing the lower categories (P25, P100).

In his first month of competition, in March 2025, the results were impressive: across around ten tournaments, he recorded 4 P500 wins and 5 podium finishes, including 4 finals. This rapid progress propelled him to 242nd place in the French rankings by early April.

The climb towards the top 100

At the P500 in Bordeaux, he plays with Benjamin Grué (formerly in the French top 10), who gives him valuable advice. He also teams up with Clément Filho, known as Chiquiteur (in the French top 50), at Cap Esterel, and with Jérôme Inzerillo (formerly No. 8, now No. 15 in France and in the world top 250) in Bondoufle.

In April 2025, he reached the final of the Guindé Open, losing to Manuel Guinard. In May, partnering with Jérôme Inzerillo, he reached his first semi-final in a P1500 event at La Ciotat — an achievement for a player ranked just 244th at the time.

"Some players in the top 30–40 told me my volée and block could help me get there", he says, referring to his goal of joining the French national team.

In October 2025, he reached 101st place in the French rankings, achieving his first goal several months ahead of schedule. By January 2026, Jules Marie was ranked 64th in France, confirming his steady progress and successful adaptation to padel.

The FFT ranking system

To reach this level, the Caen native put in the work: "At first, the FFT assigned me a ranking of 600th in France, which meant I could go straight into P500 tournaments. In padel, the rankings take your 12 best results over the season. I must have played 20 or 25 tournaments and won 12 of them, so I climbed the rankings pretty quickly", he explains.

The points system is simple: winning a P500 earns 500 points, winning a P1000 earns 1,000 points, and so on up to P3000 events (the equivalent of French Grand Slams).

The strengths and weaknesses of a former tennis player

Undeniable strengths from tennis

Jules Marie has skills from his tennis career that prove valuable on the padel court. His volée, smash and overhead game are his main strengths. "My strengths in tennis were defence and counter-attacking. In padel, it's almost the opposite: I'm better at the volée, the smash and the vibora", he explains.

His physical conditioning as a former elite athlete gives him remarkable explosiveness and endurance. His mental strength, forged by years of competing under pressure on the ATP Tour, also gives him a clear advantage over his opponents.

Areas to improve

For Jules Marie, the main challenge is defending off the glass walls, something entirely new to a tennis player. "My defence, though, is my weak point. It's very technical, especially working out whether the ball hits the side wall, the back wall… or both", he admits.

The overhead game specific to padel also takes practice. The vibora, bandeja and smash par 3 (when the ball leaves the court over a side wall after a smash) are shots he still needs to perfect.

An honest assessment

With remarkable honesty, Jules Marie estimates that his actual level puts him "around 80th or 90th" among the French top 100: "I think some players ranked below me have better defence, while my volée is better than that of some players ranked above me."

This clear-eyed self-assessment shows his maturity and determination to improve every aspect of his game so he can compete with the French top 30.

A professional and media-savvy approach

The role of YouTube and social media

Jules Marie's YouTube channel, launched in 2020 with his twin brother Arthur, had more than 130,000 subscribers in 2025. This community, whom he affectionately calls "the Breakers", follows him loyally through all his sporting adventures.

Since his switch to padel, 80% of the content on his channel has been devoted to the sport, compared with 20% for tennis. He regularly posts videos of his tournaments, shares his training sessions and documents his progress. This open approach helps him introduce padel to a wide audience and inspire other players to give it a go.

A variety of playing partnerships

Jules Marie partners with a range of players to broaden his experience. "I prefer partners I get on well with. For now, I'm mixing things up because everyone brings different experience. Maybe one day I'll settle on a regular partner if I set my sights on the French national team", he explains.

This variety of partners allows him to learn different playing styles and adapt his technique. Each partnership brings new lessons, accelerating his progress.

The Sannois club

A member of OS Sannois Tennis-Squash-Badminton-Padel in the Paris region, Jules Marie has access to excellent training facilities. The club, which he has attended since his tennis days, provides a familiar frame in which to develop his padel game while staying close to Paris.

Ambitious goals for a committed career change

A clear roadmap

Jules Marie makes no secret of his padel ambitions. From the moment he announced his career change, he set out his goals clearly:

• French top 100 within a year: goal achieved several months early (101st in October 2025)
• Top 50 within two years: well on track, with a ranking of 64th in January 2026
• Top 10 in three to four years : the ultimate goal, which could put him in contention for the French national team

"In six months, I went from 600th to 120th in France. I'm aiming for the top 100 in September and, why not, the top 50 by the end of the year", he said in August 2025. His predictions proved conservative: he far exceeded his goals.

The French national team in his sights

Joining the French national team is the ultimate aim of his padel project. "My goal remains clear: to improve step by step and, one day, join the French national team", he says with determination.

To achieve this goal, he knows he will have to step up another level and compete on the international FIP circuit. "Maybe… I'll give the international FIP circuit a go. I'm really up for it", he says enthusiastically.

FIP tournaments, the international equivalents of P500 and P1000 events, will allow him to earn points towards the world rankings and test himself against the best European and South American players.

The balance between work and sport

One of the main benefits of his switch to padel is greater control over his schedule. "The tournaments are played at weekends, so I can spend the week on my other professional projects, with the people close to me, training and resting too", he explains.

This arrangement allows him to diversify his activities: private tennis lessons, organising training camps, creating YouTube content and even taking part in a few CNGT tournaments (Caen, Normandy, Tenerife...). He can also spend more time at home in Normandy, away from the exhausting pace of international travel on the ATP Tour.

The impact on the French padel scene

A surge of media attention

Jules Marie's switch brings exceptional visibility to French padel. With more than 130,000 subscribers on YouTube, he introduces a wide audience to the distinctive features of the sport. His videos demystify padel, show its technical complexity and shine a light on tournaments and French players.

"Padel is booming! There were 12,000 competitive players in France 5 years ago; now there are 85,000! Now's the time to get involved", he says in his videos. This exponential growth in padel in France offers unprecedented opportunities for new players.

A model for tennis players

Jules Marie shows many tennis players seeking a fresh challenge that a move from tennis to padel is possible. His rapid progress shows that the qualities developed in tennis — technique, fitness and tactical awareness — provide a solid foundation for excelling at padel.

Other players, such as Julien Benneteau, Thierry Ascione and Benoît Paire, have also explored padel, but Jules Marie stands out for his total commitment and ambitious competitive goals.

The financial realities of padel

Contrary to what some might think, Jules Marie is clear about the financial picture: "In padel, there's no comparable prize money. In a tennis Challenger, losing in the first tour meant at least €1,000, and there were the Grand Slams on top of that. In padel, a P1000 earns you around €1,000… split between two players".

However, his costs are lower because he plays mainly in France, limiting his travel expenses. He has also gained two new sponsors thanks to his profile and his padel project, partly making up for the difference in earnings.

Rediscovering the joy of playing

Psychological wellbeing

Beyond results and rankings, Jules Marie emphasises the psychological side of his career change. "Psychologically, it's brilliant. I love playing padel; it's a real pleasure. I could play 5 to 6 hours a day without a problem. I'm happy every time I step onto the court", he says.

"I'm happier than I was at the end of my tennis career. I'm improving quickly, I can feel it at every tournament, and that's satisfying", he adds. This sense of constant progress, which he had lost in tennis, is a powerful source of motivation.

The creativity of playing on the left

"On the left, you have to create play and take risks. There's more creativity. In tennis, I was like a metronome at the baseline. Here, there's an endless variety of shots: par 3, par 4, bandeja, vibora, feints… I'm having so much more fun", he explains enthusiastically.

This creative side, absent from his defensive tennis game, brings him a new sense of satisfaction and adds to his daily enjoyment on court.

No regrets about the experience

Six months after his switch, when asked if he had any regrets, Jules Marie was unequivocal: "Things are going really, really well. I don't miss tennis or the tournaments at all. I've hit a ball a little, but I don't really want to play tennis any more."

"Physically and mentally, I feel great. I still have plenty of room for improvement", he says, confirming that he made the right decision.

Future prospects

The next steps

For the 2026 season, Jules Marie plans to play more P1000 and P1500 events while continuing to dominate P500 tournaments. Having already achieved his goal of reaching the French top 50 by the end of 2025, he is now aiming for the top 30 by mid-2026.

He is also considering a serious push on the FIP circuit, which he needs to play to earn points towards the world rankings and face the best international players. These tournaments, held across Europe and beyond, present a new logistical and sporting challenge.

Rackets and equipment

To optimise his performance, Jules Marie pays particular attention to his choice of equipment. His padel racket must suit his aggressive, attacking style of play. His padel shoes are also crucial, as padel demands constant lateral movement and sudden changes of direction.

A role model for the community

Beyond his own results, Jules Marie wants to inspire his community and promote padel in France. He regularly organises meet-ups with his subscribers, runs training camps and generously shares his technical knowledge.

His journey shows that it is never too late to change direction, even in elite sport, provided you have the determination, work ethic and passion it takes. At 33, he proves that age need not be a barrier to sporting excellence when you approach a new challenge with dedication and professionalism.

What to remember

Key takeaways

• Jules Marie left the ATP Tour in March 2025 after reaching No. 203 in the world and competing in qualifying for Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the Australian Open
• Ranked 64th in France in January 2026, he climbed from 550th place in March to 101st in October, exceeding his progress goals
• A former tennis player at the Sannois club, he excels at the volée and smash but is working on his defence off the glass walls, a key weakness for former tennis players
• He competes in P500 tournaments, P1000 and P1500 events, securing 12 wins at P500 level in his first full season
• His YouTube channel documents his transition and shares his experience with the "Breakers" community, introducing a wide audience to padel