GB Women's padel captain Libby Fletcher on Great Britain's standing as a padel nation
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Women's team captain Libby Fletcher says the rest of Europe is "sitting up and taking notice" of Great Britain as a padel nation — and the upcoming FIP Euro Padel Cup will be an opportunity to rubber-stamp our rising stature in the game.
GB's men's and women's teams head to Madrid from 7-13 July for what was formerly known as the European Championships. This year's rebranded FIP Euro Padel Cup also has a new three-phase format, with the first two phases taking place in the Spanish capital and the final phase at an as-yet unknown date and venue later in the year, when the top four ranked nations (Spain, Italy, France and Portugal) enter the fray.
In Madrid, GB's women's team will join the competition in phase two, where they will be ranked no.10 following their 10th placed finish in last year's European Championships in Sardinia. That means GB's women are guaranteed to face a nation ranked between 5-8 in their group (Sweden, Netherlands, Germany or Denmark). Only the four group winners go through to the climatic phase (known as the Final 8).
Fletcher, who will jointly skipper the GB women's team with Agustin Gomez Silingo, admits that qualifying for the Final 8 will be tough, but is encouraged by the team's performance last year in Italy.
GB pushed both Sweden and the Netherlands incredibly close in the group stage. In the crucial final match against the Dutch, Catherine Rose and Victoria Nicholas lost the deciding third tie from a set and 2-0 up, when victory would have sent GB into the quarter-finals.
"We absolutely go in with ambitions to qualify for the Final 8 this year," said Fletcher. "It will be very difficult but we have the players to be able to challenge the top teams. We showed that last year.
"We lost very tight matches against the Swedes and the Dutch, who we never thought we'd be able to get so close to. We're improving every year and closing in on those bigger nations. Last year was 100% a case of people sitting up and taking notice of the Great Britain team."
GB's women's progress in Madrid will depend to a large extent on the draw, which takes place on 10 July, the day before phase two begins.
Drawing Sweden or the Netherlands is likely to be tougher than facing either Germany or Denmark, whose leading players are currently ranked 118 and 247 in the FIP rankings respectively, compared to GB no.1 Aimee Gibson, who is 97th.
Gibson, 33, will spearhead GB's team in Madrid after a simply staggering two years since turning professional. "She is someone you very much want in your corner," says Fletcher. "She's a tough cookie. Her spirit and fight is unmatched. She is a great role model for women playing padel in this country."
Catherine Rose's progress since going full-time last year has also been phenomenal. She won three FIP titles alongside Gibson around the turn of the year and is pushing ever harder to get her world ranking into double figures.
Tia Norton is the veteran of the team in terms of experience, despite being only 21! She made her GB debut at the age of just 12. "I've been really impressed with her development since she moved her training base to Rotterdam," comments Fletcher. "She's stepped up her hours; physically and mentally she's really looking good."
Lisa Phillips and Abigail Tordoff are an established pairing who bring plenty of experience. They made a significant breakthrough in April in Malaysia by winning their first FIP titles. Hanna Maddock returns to the squad after missing out last year through injury. "It's really exciting to see her back in the fold, fit and competing internationally," commented the captain.
The two new names to the international line-up are Laura Jackson and 15-year-old Rosie Quirk. Jackson has recently reduced her coaching hours in order to devote more time to competitive padel, while Quirk is a stand-out junior who has beaten many adult opponents on the LTA circuit and claimed her first ever pro tour victory at the recent FIP Bronze HOP London Padel Open in Whetstone, North London.
"We've seen Rosie at junior and senior LTA camps and she's very impressive," commented Fletcher. "She plays right side and has an aggressive playing style which will suit the hot conditions in Madrid.
"Finding juniors with international potential is so exciting. Rosie has a sensible head on her shoulders and works very hard. I'm really excited to see how she enjoys the challenge."
Both GB teams fly to Madrid on Tuesday 8 July for three days' practice before phase two of the FIP Euro Padel Cup begins. Before that, many of the squad (plus some younger players not selected for the Euros) will assemble in the Netherlands for several days' training alongside the Dutch team. Many of the GB players will also play in a FIP Silver event in Utrecht (24-29 June) for added pre-Euros preparation.
Check out the full GB squad for this year's FIP Euro Padel Cup below:
