An idea of padel that goes beyond mere décor
For Vincent Laureyssens, it’s easy to become complacent. The venue is spectacular, the visual promise accepted, the event has found its place in the Brussels P2 ecosystem. But what emerges above all from this interview is something else: an obsession with coherence. Laureyssens isn’t just talking about a more beautiful central, an Art Nouveau scenography or a tournament that wants to leave its mark. He’s talking about a method. An almost industrial string together of vision, detail, hospitality, tempo and execution.
It’s not insignificant. A lot of talk about padel still easily confuses growth with depth. Here, on the contrary, he insists on what you don’t see at first: the teams, the set-up, the standards imposed on all, the attention given to players and public alike. It’s easy to see that his model isn’t just about bringing people to the Gare Maritime. It aims to ensure that everyone leaves with the impression of having experienced something unique, even if they can’t yet distinguish a vibora from a bandeja.
This is undoubtedly what makes the exchange so interesting, beyond mere promotion. Laureyssens sees the tournament as an all-encompassing experience, almost as a doorway to padel. The sport remains at its heart, of course, with the best male and female players on the circuit, but he refuses to confine it to a closed circle. The free courts 2 and 3, the desire to attract families, the curious, visitors from Brussels: all this tells the story of an event that seeks less to flatter the initiated than to broaden the base.
The real issue is Belgium
This is where the interview really takes off. As soon as he leaves the tournament stage, Laureyssens speaks of Belgian padel with a mixture of pride and impatience. He sees a strong market, still far from having reached its limit, but he also names very clearly the main brake: the lack of covered and semi-covered infrastructures, then the delay in training and youth. In other words, the craze is there; the structure, however, has yet to catch up at the same speed.
His observation about young people rings true because it’s not recited like a formula. When he explains that the tournament also serves to offer wild cards to Belgians and to encourage vocations, he finally puts the event in its rightful place: not a sufficient showcase in itself, but a lever. The nuance is important. A major event can stimulate interest, introduce people to the chiquita, glass reading and speed of execution at the very highest level. But it’s no substitute for academies, courts and hard work.
In fact, this is perhaps what gives this interview its real edge. Laureyssens sells a spectacle, yes, and he makes no secret of it. But above all, he speaks as someone who knows that Belgian padel won’t develop in the long term on the success of one week in Brussels alone. It will need clubs, covered slots, a youth network and continuity. The tournament at the Gare Maritime thus becomes more than a premium event: it’s a demonstration of what Belgium can already show, and of what it still has to build.
