(Des) hope(s)!?

I admit this title is ambiguous and contradictory... But after wishing you a happy new year and telling you how eager I am to see you all back on court, I have to admit that the wait is dragging on. The news — from the genuinely tragic public-health situation to the comparatively ‘frivolous’ world of padel — keeps blowing hot and cold, bringing both hope and despair…

 

Once again, I’ll begin with our padel clubs, still deprived of their reason for being and their livelihood: us, the players. We feared it might happen: the first announcements of permanent closures have come, cutting short promising projects already under way.

 

Faced with this economic catastrophe, there are really two kinds of padel club: those backed by large groups and/or financially strong, resilient investors, often owning their premises, and the others — just as passionate and determined, but with little left to put on the income side against their unavoidable expenses. For them, the hope of reopening is matched only by the despair they would feel at losing their livelihood, often the project of a lifetime…

 

And there is hope! First and foremost, there’s a much-anticipated technical innovation: the protective mask for sportspeople in general, and tennis and padel players in particular. 

 

All the brands now developing this product are undoubtedly driven primarily by commercial interests, given the windfall awaiting the first to mass-market this type of mask. But we, as potential customers and, above all, frustrated sportspeople, should recognise the welcome opportunity it represents.

 

The main reason for the closure of our indoor clubs, despite the already stringent health measures that everyone involved in our sport was firmly committed to, was that we couldn’t wear protective masks while playing. Once that obstacle is removed, negotiations towards reopening will inevitably be easier. Even so, the excitement surrounding recent announcements that several prototypes have successfully met AFNOR standards must be tempered by two factors:

• Firstly, there are inevitably unavoidable delays between a prototype and mass-market availability, and the first models don’t seem to be designed for indoor racket sports.
• Secondly, masks that would allow theatres and performance venues to reopen already exist, and yet…

On a positive note, plans are being made to trial the return of spectators to stadiums.

 

Despair, but hope too….

 

Another event that could bring hope — or the opposite — for padel players: the election of Gilles Moretton as head of our governing body, the French Tennis Federation. 

After a campaign in which outgoing president Bernard Giudicelli’s team was weighed down by a poor public image — not least because he was seen as having ruined the Davis Cup — it was the Lyon native and former high-level tennis player who capitalised on his promises of renewal and a break with the previous team.

Empty promises or genuine benefits?

Only time will tell for certain, but it’s worth noting that this campaign strategy had already helped the new FFT president secure an initial victory over the Giudicelli camp in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional league elections three years ago. And, objectively speaking, we have to acknowledge that, when it comes to padel, the league’s leadership has driven nothing forward — quite the opposite: just two padel committee meetings, successive appointees who, despite their motivation, knew nothing about our sport, no youth gatherings and no presence at the French junior championships, no communication or development initiatives, no allocated budget, and dismissive remarks. Padel has been neglected, to say the least — at worst, treated as a thorn in their side…

 

Nevertheless, the stated intentions have been promising and could offer real solutions to the challenges facing our rapidly growing sport: grounds for hope?

 

Yet, while all the deputy vice-presidents have been appointed with clearly defined tennis responsibilities that will occupy them full-time, padel still doesn’t know who its elected representative will be for the next four years, succeeding Hubert Picquier. The worry is that whoever takes on the role will have it tacked onto their existing tennis responsibilities: despair!

I’ll surely have the chance, right here, to admit that these fears were unfounded. The sooner, the better!

 

Finally, I can’t end this post without a nod to our French number one: Alix Collombon. Her start to the season has brought both hope and despair! Winning the first tournament of the season with her new partner Jessica Castello has raised hopes that she will reach a new level in her development!

 

But where’s the despair, you may rightly ask? Just ask all the opponents they faced this week, whom they’ll soon meet again on the World Padel Tour courts...

 

“Hope is contagious, and so is despair” (anonymous quote)

 

So let’s stay positive, and see you back on court soon!

 

  Jérôme Becasset, an informed amateur, in theory...