Thirty-year-old and leader of Reunion Tennis, Pauline Payet feels fulfilled despite injustices

Pauline Payet does not do politics but she has a minister's agenda. She runs. She flies. From tournaments to private lessons. From private lessons to tournaments. She loves it. Tennis is his whole life. His great passion. The Reunion Islander celebrated her thirtieth birthday in July 2024. All of this deserved a “first assessment” interview.

Meet the woman who has dominated tennis in her department for ages.

⇒ Pauline Payet, have you fulfilled all your childhood dreams?

Not really. My first dream was to find myself on the professional women's circuit, to play Grand Slam tournaments, to make a living from tennis. I did not achieve this objective. Due to lack of sufficient financial means, I abandoned this dream in 2018.

Today, I have a triple hat: I am still a professional player but on the national circuit, I give lessons and I create content on social networks. This life totally balances me.

⇒ The crazy thing is that this new life doesn't stop you from continuing to progress Pauline, the player.

I think coaching gives me a broader vision of the game. More maturity as well, a certain perspective. Even though physically it's starting to get harder, I'm playing better in competition. More liberated. This was felt in the few ITF tournaments in the West Indies and France in which I participated. I was thus able to move up to 813th place in the WTA rankings.

In 2024, I still played 84 matches. It's a lot. While ensuring twenty hours of coaching per week and the regular creation of digital content.

⇒ Do you know for what year you have been the number one player in Reunion?

Not really. I would say a dozen years? It would be necessary to check precisely. In any case, it is a great source of pride. I love representing my island and wearing its colors internationally. It proves that we have talent and potential. I am the feminine example.

⇒ Since last September, you have been a member of the OS Sannois club in the Paris region. Why this choice?

Firstly, it is linked to the Reunion Tennis League. She refused to request an invitation from the Federation so that I could participate in the second series of French championships. Even though I met all the criteria. Particularly in terms of ranking. Result: there was no representative from Reunion at these French championships!

⇒ How can we explain this decision by the Réunion Tennis League?

I don't explain it. The President of the League replied to me that as I had not participated in the Reunion championships, I could not claim an invitation for the France second series. While having promised me this famous invitation a few weeks before. Under these conditions, I preferred to change clubs.

⇒ You also lost the support of BOTC (Bourbon Olympique Tennis Club).

They turned their back on me because I refused to come and play the Reunion team championships in the elite division. For these six weeks of competition, the president of the club offered me 500 euros gross! For a month and a half, this meant that I had to give up my coaching activity. Not to mention that I couldn't play any tournaments during this entire period. How was I supposed to live?

⇒ Was the fact of no longer being licensed in a club in Reunion followed by reprisals?

Obviously. I registered online for the Henry Foucque Open, the BOTC tournament. Three days later, I received a totally impersonal email from the club telling me that my registration could not be validated for organizational reasons. I am refused even though I am number one in Reunion! Two years in a row, I still contributed to the club's victory in the team championship. This behavior towards me is very hurtful.

⇒ Fortunately others have reached out to you.

It's true. After my refusal to register in St Denis, I consulted the calendar and discovered that Le Tampon was organizing its tournament at the same time. I contacted the president of the TCMT who immediately welcomed me with pleasure. TCMT is the club where I started. I was eight and a half years old. I saw all these people again that I hadn't been around for years. Beautiful moments. With the added bonus of final victory in the tournament. Revenge that feels good…

⇒ Is women's tennis treated like men's tennis?
Unfortunately no. Let's take the example of the BOTC tournament again. When I was allowed to participate, the four best male and two best female players were invited. However, only boys were entitled to a free hotel room. The principle is just scandalous.

The same goes for the prices. The male winner wins 1,200 euros. The woman, 800. Even though we are better ranked than the boys!

All these injustices cannot make girls want to take up tennis. There is still a lot of work to do to change things. Especially since this problem does not only exist in Reunion. He is general.