GB squad poised for FIP Euro Padel Cup action
GB teams gearing up for Euros
GB’s elite men and women will be taking to the court from Friday (July 11th) to battle it out for their places in the final eight of the FIP Euro Padel Cup.
The renamed and reformatted tournament, previously the European Padel Championships, kicked off today (Tuesday) at Padel G24 in Madrid with 36 teams gathered in the city.
The first three days of the cup are dedicated to Phase 1 – the qualifying rounds for emerging European padel nations including Ireland, Finland, Cyprus, Ukraine and Greece.
Four qualifying nations from Phase 1 (men and women) will progress through to Phase 2, which starts on Friday and will see GB’s men and women join the action with the aim of making it to the cup finals later this year (date and location to be announced), where elite padel nations – Spain, Italy, Portugal and France – will join the competition.
The final draw for Phase 2 will be made when Phase 1 finishes on Thursday evening.
GB men are one of the top seeds going into Phase 2 and are therefore guaranteed to avoid fellow top seeds the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany in the draw.
GB women are ranked second seeds so will face one of the top seed nations – either Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany or Denmark.
Phase 2 timings
- July 11: Sessions at 12:00 & 16:00
- July 12: Sessions at 12:00 & 16:00
- July 13: Final session at 10am
The FIP YouTube channel is streaming live action from eight courts.
Women’s squad
Captained by Libby Fletcher and Agustin Gomez Silingo, the GB’s women will be spearheaded by Aimee Gibson, the first British player to break into the world’s top 100.
Aimee, 33, is likely to be partnered with GB No 2 Catherine Rose, with whom she has won three FIP tour titles. Rising star Catherine is currently tantalisingly close to joining Gibson in double figures in the world rankings.
Tia Norton, who has played padel for GB since the age of 12 years, brings immense pedigree to the team despite being only 22. Amongst her many impressive career milestones, she became the first British woman to make the main draw of a Premier Padel event last November in Mexico.
Lisa Phillips and Abigail Tordoff, who won their first FIP tour titles together in the Philippines earlier this year, are also in the squad.
One of the most interesting selections is Essex player Rosie Quirk, who makes her international debut at the age of just 15 having impressed the selectors in domestic competitions and in her first forays on the FIP tour.
Canary Islands-based player Hanna Maddock returns to the squad after missing last year’s Euros through injury and Laura Jackson makes her debut after reducing her coaching hours and committing to her competitive career.
GB Captain Libby Fletcher said: “This year the selection process has been very challenging – Great Britain is in the strongest position we’ve been in from a player perspective. We’ve got more players competing across the board, so selection has been very competitive. We have a few players making their debuts this year, which is very exciting for them, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the team compete and the way they approach this year’s competition.”
Men’s squad
Long-term British No 1 Christian Medina Murphy will once again lead British hopes in the men’s competition. The Alicante-based star won the fourth FIP title of his career in April in Hong Kong and regularly makes inroads in the draws of Premier Padel events.
Sam Jones, Louie Harris and Nikhil Mohindra are also established pros and seasoned campaigners despite their relatively tender years. Sam and Nikhil in particular will be keen to avenge agonisingly close defeats to the Netherlands at last year’s Euros in Sardinia.
Men’s captains Sandy Farquharson and John Leach named three debutants in the squad for Madrid – Denmark-based Scotsman Alex Loughlan, Spain-based newcomer Jamie Lobo and Sandy’s younger brother and former tennis pro Tom Farquharson. Alfonso Patacho keeps his place from last year.
Sandy said: “The game is developing in professionalism and we are making great strides to compete at the highest level. This will be an opportunity for the players and our team to show the work that has been put in over the last year.
“Competition in Europe is getting stronger and stronger and we know that playing in Madrid, at its altitude, in the summer will be fast, tough conditions. We’re excited to be bringing some familiar and some new players coming through and we feel like we can get the results we’re looking for at the top level.” 🎾
