ATP Novak Djokovic Enzo Couacaud

A former tennis player who won a set against Djokovic switches to professional padel

Andrés Tomás Rico - 17 Oct 2026
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A former tennis player who won a set against Djokovic turns to professional padel. Photo: Getty Images

The relationship between tennis and padel has always been one of love-hate. Since the birth of the latter, it has always been seen as a sibling sport to the former. However, over the years, it gained independence and also greater popularity, and today, padel is one of the fastest-growing sports with significant participation. Nonetheless, it does not have the weight, tradition, and popularity that tennis enjoys.

But within this rivalry between sibling sports, they also feed into each other to provide second chances to those who have struggled to succeed in one of them: this is the case of Enzo Couacaud. The Frenchman reached number 151 in the world and, above all, became known for being the only tennis player to win a set against Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Australian Open. Additionally, he was Carlos Alcaraz's sparring partner at Roland Garros 2025, but last year he decided to end his tennis career. He hung up his racket to pick up the paddle, where he is currently ranked number 689 in padel.

Enzo Couacaud follows in the footsteps of other tennis players like Marta Marrero or Roberta Vinci

One of the most well-known examples is Marta Marrero. The Canarian reached number 47 in the WTA ranking and won two titles in doubles. However, her résumé was much broader in padel, where she achieved being number one in the world and won multiple tournaments on the professional circuit.

Another tennis player who followed these steps was Roberta Vinci. The Italian, former number 7 in the world and number 1 in doubles and finalist of the 2015 US Open, also changed sports when she retired from professional tennis in 2018 and began competing in tournaments by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and the professional padel circuit.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Un extenista que ganó un set a Djokovic se pasa al pádel profesional