While tracks of padel proliferate from month to month throughout France and particularly in Gironde, the Bordeaux Premier Padel is already preparing its second edition. The international tournament, the second largest event in the discipline in France after the Major at Roland-Garros, is still writing the first pages of its history and will make some important adjustments for the 2025 edition. After a first at the Arkéa Arena in Floirac, the tournament will take place at the Bordeaux Ice Rink, in the Mériadeck district, in the city center, from June 28 to July 6, 2025.
“We cannot do without testing the other large venue in Bordeaux, the cost of which is around two thirds less than the Arkéa Arena,” explains Jean-Luc Baldelli, promoter of the tournament. “We are still looking for an economic model in a booming sport, which is not yet king. The objective is also to connect the event to the city of Bordeaux, which has shown marked interest. And being in the city center is ideal. » By moving to the Ice Rink, the organizers (Jean-Luc Baldelli, Jean-Thomas Peyrou and former tennis player Michaël Llodra) hope to attract the local public, after attracting nearly 17,000 spectators last year. Already a success.
Addition of “night sessions”
Scheduled two weeks later than in 2024, the 2025 edition of the Bordeaux P2 (third highest category of tournaments on the international circuit) wants to avoid reliving last year’s misadventure. After a grueling South American tour, passing through Venezuela, Chile and Argentina, the eight best players in the world decided to express their dissatisfaction with the world body Premier Padel by skipping certain tournaments… including this one from Bordeaux. “It wasn’t against us, but we weren’t in a good position on the calendar coming out of this grueling South American tour. By positioning ourselves on these dates, the calendar is more relevant for the players and we should avoid going through that again,” hopes Jean-Luc Baldelli.
This time, the top 8 in the world for men and women should be there and the undisputed world No. 1 Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, padel superstars, could discover the Bordeaux “night sessions”. Because this is the other new feature of this edition: three matches per day will be played in the evening. “We are going to script the matches with more show. With this configuration of the rink different from that of the Arena, we will have the public on 360 degrees and closer to the court,” explains the tournament promoter. Before concluding: “We have set our ambitions very high, we want to live up to it for this second edition. »
Ticket office opens on December 4.
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