Born almost by accident in an Acapulco garden, padel has in fifty years become a global phenomenon that both fascinates and worries tennis. Its meteoric rise is already reshaping the landscape of racket sports.
Exhausted but omnipresent stars, ever-longer tournaments and exhibitions that have become a business in their own right: tennis is revealing its deepest contradictions, torn between spectacle and physical survival.
As federations struggle to reinvent themselves, private academies are capturing talent… but also families able to invest tens of thousands of euros a year. A system that is increasingly effective, but also increasingly unequal.
Conceived as a bold bet to prepare for the post–Big 3 era, the Next Gen Masters has shaken up the codes of modern tennis. A pioneering, visionary tournament, but now in search of an identity.
This is a decision that is making a lot of noise in the French tennis world: the FFT has been ordered to pay €850,000 to its former DTN, Nicolas Escudé. A case that highlights internal tensions and the federation's controversial choices.
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