GB debutant Rosie Quirk 'really excited' to get going at the 2025 Euro Padel Cup
• 3 MINUTE READ
Fifteen-year-old Rosie Quirk says her debut call-up to the Great Britain squad for the FIP Euro Padel Cup shows that "anything is possible if you work hard enough."
The Essex teenager has been playing padel for just a year and a half since transferring from junior tennis, but her work ethic, level-headed temperament and eye-catching results on the LTA Padel British Tour have already earned her a senior international debut on merit.
Quirk will be joining illustrious team-mates including GB no.1 and world no.97 Aimee Gibson, GB no.2 Catherine Rose and British padel pioneer Tia Norton on the plane to Madrid for the tournament formerly known as the European Championships on 7-13 July.
"When I first heard the news, I told my family and they cheered and did a big fist pump!" said Quirk. "It's a privilege to be selected to play for my country. I'm really excited. It's going to be amazing just to be around the girls in that sort of environment.
"On the day we got the call-up, the other players all sent me messages. It makes me excited that I'll have them by my side at the Euros and they will be supporting me. I hope to get used to it for many appearances in the future."
Quirk has forged a reputation on the LTA domestic circuit alongside fellow teenager Chloe de la Mare from Guernsey. The pair have claimed several notable scalps against senior players en route to winning three LTA Padel National Tour Grade 2 titles this year.
The duo also made their world tour debut at the recent FIP Bronze HOP London Padel Open at The Padel Hub Whetstone. They hit back from a set down to defeat fellow Brits Amy Cairns and Alice Keddie in round one before going down to an Italian pair in the second round.
Quirk has also rubbed shoulders with senior players earlier this year at GB national training camps at the National Training Centre and The Padel Hub in Reading. "Just being invited to those camps was a real achievement," she reflects. "It showed me that anything is possible if you work hard.
"Coming from tennis I never played against adults, but padel is so social and the community is friendly, which made it easy for me to settle in."
Quirk, who is a pupil at New Hall School in Essex, is now well accustomed to elite training environments. Four times a year, her parents take to her to A2 Academy in Barcelona for a week's intensive training with renowned coach Juan Alday, where world no.2 Ariana Sanchez and French no.1 Alix Collombon are often around for an encouraging chat.
"Having someone like Alix Collombon walking up to you and starting a conversation is a real leveller," says her father Russell Quirk. "But Rosie has an excellent mentality anyway. She isn't fazed by playing or being around adults.
"The tournaments she's played have grown in stature and pressure — and she has responded each time. What she's really good at is having a cool head and not showing her opponent if she feels under pressure. You'll get no tantrums from Rosie, no smashed rackets or hitting the glass. She's very level-headed."
In a typical week, Quirk trains three times with coach Dan Troy in Ipswich or Maldon and once with George Weller in Slough, plus frequent tournaments at weekends. It's quite a punishing schedule for both player and parents, but Russell and his wife Karolina are committed to helping her follow her passion.
"She genuinely loves the sport and the training," he says. "I try to trick her sometimes and say, 'Why don't we just skip is tonight?' But she has never, ever said, 'Yeah, OK.' She always wants to go. She is really applying herself to this. She's as dedicated as any senior player."
The British star also has two sisters including a twin, Lilly, who also plays padel. "The whole family supports Rosie," their father adds. "We drive up and down the motorways and back her financially because we think it could be a career for her, but most of all because she loves it."
You can follow all the action from this year's Euro Padel Cup here:
