Vial and Tullou stun the field at P1000 Sète

At the Open Sète Padel Club, a high-quality P1000 event on the French Mediterranean coast, the seventh-seeded pair of Romain Vial and Benjamin Tullou delivered the surprise of the weekend. The two outsiders fought their way round after round through the draw and crowned their run with a title triumph against two of the strongest pairs in the entire field.

A run that turned heads

The draw in Sète had already been considered particularly balanced beforehand. With numerous experienced French pairs and international players, competition was fierce, and the seeding board left little room for underdog stories. It was precisely in this environment that Vial and Tullou developed a form that lifted them step by step. Their confidence grew with every round, their game became more aggressive and at the same time more controlled.

Semi-final against the top seeds

The decisive step came in the semi-final. There, the duo faced top seeds Alexandre Toppin and Pedro Diaz Torregrosa, a pair clearly tipped beforehand as title favourites. Vial and Tullou were not impressed and played a tactically mature match. Aggressive at the net, patient in the build-up and with a high success rate on key shots, they put the top seeds under pressure point by point.

The key moments came in tight scorelines, where the two outsiders consistently made bold decisions rather than waiting for their opponents to miss. With precise lobs, targeted smashes and sustained pressure off the wall, they pushed the top duo out of their comfort zone and deservedly booked their spot in the final.

Impact on the tournament

With the number one seeds knocked out, the dynamic of the whole weekend changed. A clearly stratified event suddenly turned into an open contest in which every match had to be reassessed. For Vial and Tullou, the win meant above all one thing: extra confidence for the final and decisive step.

A three-set thriller in the final

In the final, the two faced the second seeds Rémy Gourre and Loïc Le Panse, a settled French duo who had also produced a strong tournament. From the very first rallies, the match developed into a hard-fought high-level exchange in which neither pair was willing to give up a single ball.

Vial and Tullou got off to the better start and took the opening set 7/4. Gourre and Le Panse responded and reclaimed the second set 4/6 from the outsiders' perspective, sending the final into a decisive third set. There, the contest remained close until the very end. Long rallies, risky volleys and uncompromising smashes alternated without either pair pulling away for long.

The decisive moment

In the closing games of the third set, mental stability proved to be the key. Vial and Tullou kept their service games focused and capitalised on the slightly weaker return games of their opponents in the decisive points. With a 6/4 in the third, they finally sealed the title and claimed the biggest trophy of the weekend after an intense battle.

A statement performance

For the French padel scene, this victory sends a clear message. A seventh-seeded pair that beats both the number one and number two seeds in succession is anything but routine at P1000 level. Vial and Tullou have shown that an increasing number of French pairs now possess the level to challenge and even defeat established top duos on a good day.

For the two players, the triumph in Sète means additional ranking points, an important career boost and, above all, confirmation that their system holds up against the strongest opponents. For the upcoming tournaments, they should not only step on court with more confidence, but also be taken significantly more seriously by their rivals.