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ESC Padel Cup: SKEMA keeps the trophy at home in its first home edition
From 17 to 19 April, SKEMA Business School hosted the French Business Schools Padel Cup in Sophia Antipolis, a young competition held at All In Country Club, the sports complex founded by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. This 2026 edition delivered another collective statement from SKEMA, which repeated last year’s success and added the mixed trophy to its silverware.
Forehands, volleys and smashes echoed across the courts in Grasse throughout the weekend. Eight leading French business schools gathered on the Côte d’Azur for a much-awaited edition of the ESC Padel Cup. Fourteen men’s teams and six mixed teams took part, bringing together forty players from across France in a highly competitive atmosphere. SKEMA fielded seven teams drawn from its Sophia Antipolis, Lille and Grand Paris campuses, reflecting strong mobilisation across the school.
Strong results in both men’s and mixed competitions
In the men’s competition, SKEMA Sophia 1 defeated emlyon business school in the final. Led by Ariel Meyer and Stanislas Morius, the defending champions produced a composed performance against strong opponents and retained the title after another demanding campaign.
SKEMA also secured a second notable result with SKEMA Lille 1 finishing third, represented by Kamil Houssenay Kassamaly and Martin Barbes. Two SKEMA teams therefore reached the men’s podium.
“We are proud of our podium finish and proud to have represented SKEMA. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this result, starting with our coach and the school’s sports staff. We will keep training to win again next year,” said Kamil and Martin.
In the mixed competition, SKEMA confirmed its dominance. Marine Bernard and Théo Dupuis gave SKEMA Sophia another title, finishing ahead of a strong HEC Paris pair. SKEMA Lille also completed the podium, with Hanae Lavialle and Joseph Mignen taking third place.
A demanding organisational challenge backed by strong partners
Beyond the sporting results, the event also highlighted the organisational capacity of students on the Sophia Antipolis campus, which hosted the competition as defending champion. Welcoming delegations, coordinating logistics, managing partner relations and running the tournament required several weeks of preparation.
The competition took place in high-level conditions in Grasse, offering players a recognised venue within the French padel scene.
This edition also benefited from the support of several partners involved alongside the organisers, including Babolat, PermiFast, Waycy and Net & Connect.
