Former world No. 1 tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his business partner Thierry Ascione have officially canceled plans to construct padel courts at Le Garden tennis club in La Baule, France, following intense opposition from local residents, according to reports by regional news outlets including Actu.fr and L’Écho de la Presqu’île.
The Project Context and Initial Plans
The municipal multi-racket sports structures in La Baule-Escoublac were officially handed over to All In Group on June 12, 2026, during a signing ceremony at the town hall. Headed by Tsonga and fellow former professional tennis player Thierry Ascione, the management company initially outlined an ambitious redevelopment strategy. The proposal featured the construction of six indoor padel courts at the Sporting site alongside four outdoor courts at Le Garden, a historic residential tennis club situated between avenues de Gaulle and Lajarrige.
However, the announcement immediately triggered pushback from homeowners living near Le Garden. Organizing themselves into a formal local collective, neighborhood residents publicly voiced their opposition on July 21 through a joint press release and by hanging hostile protest banners on their private properties. While the community welcomed the new management team’s takeover of the club, residents argued that installing padel courts was fundamentally incompatible with Le Garden’s residential, architectural, and landscape heritage.
Resident Concerns and Official Response
The local collective highlighted several environmental disruptions inherent to modern padel facilities, citing persistent impact noises against glass walls, the acoustic resonance of metal structures, and intrusive nighttime lighting. To substantiate their claims, residents referenced guidelines issued by the French Tennis Federation (Fédération française de tennis), which advises maintaining a distance of at least 100 meters between padel installations and residential dwellings in quiet zones.
In response to the community pressure and subsequent discussions—including an exchange during the Journée Belle époque on August 9—Tsonga addressed the neighborhood in a formal letter dated August 31. Writing on behalf of All In Group, the former French tennis star confirmed that the outdoor padel project at Le Garden had been permanently scrapped.
“Since taking possession of the premises, we have had the opportunity to refine our thinking regarding the layout and development of the various sites,” Tsonga wrote, as reported by regional media. “In this context, the initial project for the establishment of padel courts at Le Garden had already been ruled out. The remarks you addressed to us come to comfort this orientation.”
Future Padel Infrastructure at Le Sporting
With Le Garden preserved for traditional tennis and local social gatherings, All In Group intends to concentrate its racquet-sport expansion entirely at the Sporting complex. Tsonga emphasized that the Sporting venue is better suited to house modern multi-sport amenities without disturbing local tranquility.
“In order to respect our revitalization commitments and meet the growing demand of practitioners, projects related to padel will be concentrated on the Sporting site,” Tsonga stated. “More suited to hosting modern multi-racket equipment, the Sporting will make it possible to offer quality infrastructure without altering the tranquility of your neighborhood. It is by remaining attentive to residents and users that we will build, together, a harmonious and sustainable sports project for La Baule.”
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