Catherine Rose on her breakthrough season & competing at the LTA Padel National Championships
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It’s been an unforgettable season for British No.2 Catherine Rose, whose first full year as a professional padel player has been packed with milestones, momentum and plenty to celebrate.
Back in July 2024, the 26-year-old made the decision to leave her job as a teacher to pursue padel full time. Now, after a year of competing on the pro-tours, the leap of faith has truly paid off with Rose closing out her most successful year to date.
So far this year, she has lifted two FIP titles, become the second British woman to break into the world’s top 100 and helped guide her country to the FIP Euro Padel Cup Final 8.
With the end of the season in sight, we caught up with Rose who reflected on her stellar year, her most memorable highlight and what it means to be a part of the inaugural LTA Padel National Championships taking place in just a couple of days time.
“It’s my first season as a fully professional player, so I’ve gained a lot of experience and learned a lot from the year”, said Rose. “The biggest driver behind the improvements I’ve made has been having more time to dedicate to the training, the competitions and being able to give it my 100% instead of having to balance with a full-time job.
“I’m really proud of the progress I’ve made and finishing the year inside the top 100 is a big achievement.”
One of Rose’s defining moments of the year came while representing Great Britain at the FIP Euro Padel Cup in Madrid this July.
Competing in the deciding match against Sweden’s Hanna Borjeson and Lisa Andersson, Rose and compatriot Lisa Phillips combined to secure a 6-2, 7-6 victory and send the British women to the Final 8.
“The highlight of my season was when we qualified for the FIP Euro Padel Cup Final 8”, she added. “We had the qualifiers in Madrid where we drew Sweden and myself and Lisa Phillips had to play the deciding match to see who would qualify for the Final 8.
“We managed to win that match against Sweden who are a country we never thought we could necessarily beat or compete against and to be able to go through to the Final 8 countries in Europe was an amazing experience.”
Before Rose allows herself time to recharge in the off-season, there’s one final challenge in sight - the inaugural LTA Padel National Championships.
The LTA Padel National Championships will bring together top British junior, open, and senior padel players to compete for national titles, prize money and LTA ranking points at Rocket Padel in Bristol.
The British No.2 is part of a strong British contingent set to compete in Bristol and will team up with British No.1 Aimee Gibson as they bid to become the first-ever women’s champions.
Rose and Gibson have been a formidable duo when they’ve joined forces in the past - capturing back-to-back FIP Silver crowns in Australia at the start of the season. Now, Britain’s top female players will reunite with the intention of finishing the year exactly as they started it – by etching their names on a trophy.
“I’m super excited to be taking part in the first ever LTA Padel National Championships. It shows where padel is going in Great Britain and how much is going into it. You’re going to have all the top British players down in Bristol - it’s going to be the place to be.
“I’m very excited to be teaming up with Aimee (Gibson) again. We’re great friends on and off the court. We get on super well and always have a really good time when we go to tournaments together.
“I really enjoy Aimee’s competitive spirit on court. She’s such a fighter, so determined, and it’s really nice to be by the side of someone with that sort of attitude.
“We’ve shared some really good results together at the beginning of this year and we’re teaming up again at the beginning of 2026 so it’s a nice way to lead into the new year for us.”
The LTA Padel National Championships is taking place between 4-7 December at Rocket Padel Bristol. Find out everything you need to know about the event below:
