Paris Major R32: Leygue Rewrites History, Five French Pairs Fall

A First for French Padel

Thomas Leygue and his Spanish partner Jesús Moya scripted a piece of Premier Padel history at the Alpine Paris Major on Tuesday, defeating David Gala and Enzo Jensen 7-6(8), 6-4 on Court Philippe-Chatrier to become the first French pair ever to win a main-draw match at Roland-Garros.

The victory is all the more striking given what each player had to overcome to reach that court. Leygue, ranked around 146th on the circuit, had been sidelined for more than a year after a near-complete Achilles tendon rupture before returning to competition in 2026. He did not receive a wild card for the main draw of this edition and was forced to come through qualifying — which he did, winning two matches over the weekend before earning his spot in the R32. Moya, ranked around 158th, provided the experience and steadiness that kept the partnership competitive through a punishing first set.

Gala and Jensen, ranked 34th and 46th respectively, were clear favourites entering the match. The opening set stretched to a tie-break that was interrupted by a rain delay; when play resumed, Leygue and Moya took control and eventually won it 10-8 in the decisive game. The second set was considerably more straightforward — they closed it out 6-4 to advance to the Round of 16 as the day's most celebrated underdogs.

Fellow French wild-card recipients Dylan Guichard and Belgian Clément Geens (ranked 75th in the world) also delivered a strong performance on Philippe-Chatrier in Tuesday's evening session, advancing to the R16 and giving France a second pair in the last sixteen on the men's side.

Wednesday: A Clean Sweep of Exits

If Tuesday produced French joy, Wednesday brought a clean sweep of disappointment. All five remaining French pairs in the main draw were eliminated during the R32 session.

In the women's draw, Jessica Ginier Barbier and Chiara Pappacena suffered the sharpest defeat of the day, losing 6-1, 6-0 to the Portuguese-Spanish pair of Ana Catarina Nogueira and Melania Merino in little more than an hour. Léa Godallier and Esther Carnicero mounted a braver effort: after dropping a first set 7-6(4), they levelled the match by winning the second 6-1, but Patricia Martínez Fortún and Jana Montes Cabruja eventually prevailed 6-3 in the decider. Louise Bahurel and Lucile Pothier exited 6-4, 6-4 against Polo and Aguilar.

On the men's side, wild-card recipients Benjamin Tison and Maxime Forcin fell 6-1, 6-4 to the Gala-Campagnolo partnership. Johan Bergeron and Bastien Blanqué suffered an identical scoreline — 6-1, 6-4 — losing to the Argentine pair of Carlos Gutiérrez and Gonzalo Alfonso.

Who Remains and What Is Next

With eight French players eliminated on Wednesday alone, attention now focuses on Leygue/Moya and Guichard/Geens as France's remaining representatives in the men's R16. On the women's side, Alix Collombon and Araceli Martínez — seeded 13th — enter the draw directly at the R16 stage after a bye through the first round, giving France further involvement when the knockout phase intensifies.

Elsewhere in the draw, top seeds Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia — three-time defending Paris Major champions — were also in R32 action on Wednesday. The tournament runs to 13 September, with quarter-finals scheduled for the weekend.