Mom Lea Godallier: “This is how I balance between the court and family. My son? A future padel champion!”

“The project of my life.” Five words, tears in her eyes, and a voice slightly broken with emotion. Lea Godallier describes her greatest joy like this: becoming a mother. At the beginning of the year, she gave birth to her first child, Manoa. And from that moment, everything changed, as it naturally does when cradles, bottles, diapers, and everything else appear in the house. A (well-deserved) break from her competitive commitments, then a return to the padel courts in June at the P2 in Bordeaux alongside Charlotte Soubriè. Shortly after, in July, came the thrill of the FIP European Championships in Cagliari, where she played some amazing matches. At thirty years old, it’s not easy, but clearly Lea’s mind and legs are still in sync with padel, and it didn’t take her long to regain her touch on the court. And not only that — almost like a tribute to moms with rackets — just two months later, in August, she won the FIP Rise Villa Mercede Cup in Frascati, Italy, near Rome. Guess who her partner was? Another player mom, Italian Giulia Sussarello. Meeting Lea with Manoa in her arms, now the mascot of the circuit and always the center of attention among her colleagues, is always an emotional tug. On the court, she’s powerful and has an evident personality, but off it, she radiates sweetness in her role as a mom—Mom Lea.

A lefty from Papeete in French Polynesia, Godallier, together with her “colleague” Alix Collombon, represents France’s hope at the FIP World Padel Championships, scheduled to take place in Doha at the end of the month. And this year, there will be a special guest accompanying her on the trip to Qatar. “Since Manoa entered my life, many things have obviously changed. I see life differently. When I’m on the court, I always give 100%, but now I have an extra motivation because it means I can be with my baby afterward,” Godallier said from the stands at Roland Garros — to FIP’s social media, here is the link – where she reached the second round of the Greenweez Paris Major Premier Padel with Italian Giorgia Marchetti, before losing in three sets to the higher-ranked Spanish pair Sara Ruiz Soto and Carla Mesa Salazar.

Balancing work with taking care of a child is no easy feat, even more so when traveling around the world is required. But Lea, who isn’t the first padel player to become a mom and won’t be the last, seems to have handled it remarkably well, thanks in part to a little “help.” “I need my parents by my side, along with my partner, because someone from the family needs to take care of Manoa. Of course, everything has changed, and logistically it’s more complicated, but so far, we’ve managed quite well.” And who knows? Maybe one day Manoa will follow in mom Lea’s footsteps: “In the future, he’ll do whatever sport he wants to. Of course, it would be better if he became a padel champion. Our whole life is dedicated to this sport, both mine and my partner’s, so it would be best if he played padel, definitely”.

A final inevitable comment on the upcoming event where she’ll team up with Alix Collombon, Jessica Ginier, Carla Touly, Charlotte Soubrie, Lucile Pothie, Camille Sireix, and Fiona Ligi: the FIP World Padel Championships. “We want to improve on the last World Championship, where we finished seventh. Our goal is to finish in the top four.” To the delight of all French people, starting with little Manoa.