Euro Final 8, masterpiece by France: it’s a final against Spain. Collombon’s joy: “We are outsiders, but we will give everything”

Back in the final, again against Spain, four years after the one in Marbella in 2021. The French women’s team celebrates reaching the Final 8 of the FIP Euro Padel Cup and books a place for the “impossible challenge” against a Roja that has been unstoppable so far and is the clear favorite for the title on Saturday. The joy of Les Bleues is unstoppable after their win over Belgium — the big surprise of this edition — because it guarantees a better result than in 2024, when the team stopped in the semifinals and then won the bronze medal. The morning at La Linea de la Concepcion started with total dominance by Carla Touly and Lea Godallier, who crushed Michelle Van Mol and Laura Bernard with a double 6-0. The second match was more balanced: at the start, Alix Collombon and Jessica Ginier were put in trouble by Helena Wyckaert and An-Sophie Mestach. Down one break at 4-2, the French pair raised their level and turned things around to take the first set 7-5, before dominating the second 6-1.

“Our first goal was to reach the semifinals, and now we are in the final against Spain, in an edition that takes place in Spain. We are so happy,” said Alix Collombon, number 27 in the FIP Ranking and symbolic player of this French team. “It’s hard to describe our excitement knowing that tomorrow we’ll play against such amazing players. It will definitely be very tough, with talents and champions of that level. We start as outsiders, and our main goal is to enjoy the moment and the opportunity to play against them. Maybe our goal won’t be to win, because it’s really very difficult, but we have nothing to lose, and we’ll play giving everything.” Collombon also talked about the turning point of the tournament: “I think about yesterday’s match against Italy. The team’s mentality was fantastic, we were very focused and we believed in ourselves. It was a very tough match, as always against strong rivals like the Italians. Every player was decisive, and I think that was the key moment of our tournament.”