Amélie and Louis, two different trajectories for two blue beach Tennis hopefuls

Focus on two blue hopefuls in this new beach square. Amélie Thiant and Louis Bepoldin have different origins and backgrounds but they both embody the next generation of their discipline. Proof of their potential: the DTN offered them to integrate the federal structure.

The future of French beach Tennis is already linked to the present. Starting this year, two new juniors will join the federal structure and will be supported by the DTN: Amélie Thiant et Louis Bepoldin. Two “new shoots” with different profiles but who hope to reach the summits.

For Amélie, the discovery of beach tennis happened in a fairly classic way. Arriving on the island of Saint-Martin (French community in the Caribbean Sea) when she was just three months old, she began practicing several sports (tennis, wake, surfing) as she grew up, before becoming passionate about beach tennis at the age of seven, after accompanying his father and brother who were then training at FCBT, the Friendly Caribbean Beach Tennis, located in the eastern bay of the island.

“Little by little, I developed a taste for playing and I stopped all my other sporting activities, she remembers. Following the passage of Hurricane Irma, the island was devastated, my beach practice intensified because there was not much else to do. So I started regional competitions in the Caribbean. I was three times champion of Guadeloupe and once champion of Martinique.

The young girl climbs the ladder little by little. After a complicated start to 2024 where she had to juggle sports and studies, she managed to bounce back and win the title of French champion for the third year in a row. “With my amazing partner Jade Guindé, she specifies. In addition, I had three bronze medals internationally, at the U16 individual world championships, the U18 European Championships and the U18 World Cup.”

Having joined the EDHEC program for high-level athletes, the blue hope now has more time to refine his preparation, particularly physical. Training that will become even more professional in the months to come. “I felt the need to have a fixed training structure with a dedicated coach. So when Jerome Maillot told me that the Federation had decided to choose me to train in Bordeaux with Maïré Bray, my joy was immense and I immediately jumped at the opportunity. So I’m moving next month!”

A new chapter therefore opens for the woman who is now 164th in the world. A chapter full of titles? “I hope to give the best of myself, to progress in order to achieve my highest goals. My ambition is to win a medal at the individual world championships in the next two years. I hope to be selected again in the French team and win team titles In the long term, I obviously want to become world number 1. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the community of Saint-Martin and my club, the FCBT, who have always supported me. I have so much pride in wearing the colors loud and clear. from my island…”

According to Rodolphe Boyeldieujunior national referent at the FFT, Amélie’s federal integration should allow her to consolidate her sporting project and give it a rigorous framework. “She is a player that I have known and followed for many years, he emphasizes. A fairly precocious player when she was U14, ahead of the others in terms of level at that time. But being a little isolated in Saint-Martin, she had difficulty structuring her training framework and her last season was more complicated.

She became aware of it from the summer of 2024 and she understood the need to have a real, regular, precise training framework. She therefore changed things in the second part of the season which brought good results quite quickly. We therefore suggested that it integrate the federal structure to promote its development and meet its high objectives.”

On Louis’ side, the profile is more “metropolitan”. This good club level tennis player (5/6) was born on October 22, 2007 in Fontainebleau. His beginnings in beach tennis date back to 2017, when two courts were created at his club, the Tennis Club Champagne-sur-Seine.

“Before, I played from time to time to have fun with my friends. It’s been four years since I started training regularly, and since September 2023, I have been fully involved in this discipline, tells the man who is currently ranked 14th French, 400th in the world and 18th in the world juniors. My long-term goal is to go as far as possible and be world number 1 ! I had the chance to train for two years with Nicolas Bailly et Coline Arnould, then with Antoine Thumyfederal coach, and always Coline Arnould. Thanks to their support, I won the 2024 French Championships alongside my cousin, Lucas Busato and obtained two selections for the French junior team.

Since September, the Ile-de-France resident has been training beach tennis four to five times a week, with two group sessions and two to three individual training sessions, mainly with Antoine Thumy. In terms of physical preparation, he follows four weekly sessions with Jérôme Busato at the Melun Tennis Club.

But he too will soon experience “the great federal leap” and integrate the structure of the FFT in Artigues. “I could train daily alongside Maxime Moretto, Paul Gotarda et Tery Bray. I can’t wait to start this new adventure!”

Those responsible for French beach tennis have been closely monitoring its results, especially since the summer of 2023. “He is a player with strong potential who had a year in 2024 with regular progression, a first French champion title in U18 and finally a third place at the junior world team championships where something clicked, Rodolphe Boyeldieu analysis. I think that Louis, during these championships, took stock of the level he could have and the objectives he could set for himself in the medium and long term.

To continue his progress, we thought it was time to offer him a more professional structure and a training framework shared with players already well established on the ITF circuit in order to meet the demands of the very high level. It will also integrate the federal structure from this January.”

Will Louis and Amélie join the locomotive “Nico” Gianotti on the roof of world beach tennis? See you in a few years to find out.