Camille Pin: "Padel has a fun side that makes it really enjoyable"

How and when did you discover padel?

The first time was in 2000 in Aix-en-Provence, the heart of padel in France. We were there for the Fed Cup, and we played with other tennis players. Back then, it was a very niche sport, it didn’t have the prominence it has today, the player community was much smaller, and there wasn’t this idea of regular practice.

I didn’t play again until 2021. Tennis friends who had taken up padel invited me to play, and the idea of spending time with them and discovering a new sport intrigued me. I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t playing enough. In 2022, I got back into it, and in just 15 days of practice, I caught the padel bug!

What do you like about padel?

I like the physical effort: it’s a sport where you have to be very quick, very dynamic. I love reconnecting with friends, and I really enjoy playing with people I’m close to; the social aspect is definitely the number one asset of padel!

Also, I enjoy finding a sport that is close to tennis but presents me with new challenges. It’s a big challenge for me to progress, and I love that.

I have a base that allows me to enjoy a level of play, but I also feel a huge frustration from being less skilled in other areas. And, as a competitor, that pushes me to want to improve.

How do you explain the excitement around this sport?

Padel has a fun side that makes it very enjoyable. It’s like in tennis, you always find yourself in the best possible situation, at the moment when you’re about to finish the point, and you remove all the back-court aspect.

Then, the interest of the sport is that everyone finds their own challenges to overcome based on their profile. A lot of people play this sport recreationally, and it has also become a place where people gather and interact. Instead of going golfing now, people play padel!

Also, when you find the right person, the right padel partner, the chemistry is amazing. It’s actually stronger than in doubles tennis: the bond during a match is very strong because you can’t play without each other. There’s so little space that there’s no room for ego. You play together, you strategize together, you’re in sync, it’s a real sharing experience.

Since its creation, you’ve been involved in organizing the Greenweez Padel Tournament. What have you learned from this experience?

Thanks to tennis, I’ve been able to enter this new world of padel, and I’m very happy about it. I’ve been called upon, for the second year in a row, to interview players after their matches. I’ve developed a good rapport with them, which makes my job easier each year. I’m delighted to discover a new field that is so accessible, and for which there is so much enthusiasm and positive energy.

Interview by Caroline Pastorelli.