Great Britain seal top 10 finishes at the European Padel Championships
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The Great Britain teams enjoyed strong performances at the European Padel Championships in Cagliari Italy last week – going toe-to-toe with some of the best nations from across the continent.
The men’s team clinched 7th place while the women’s side ended the week in 10th – however, neither managed to seal qualification into the World Padel Championships later this year.
GB men got off to an impressive start in their group, with back-to-back wins over Switzerland and Hungary, before losing to eventual runners-up Italy. A second place finish in the group meant that they qualified for the 1st-8th place play-off draw.
In the quarter-finals they were defeated in a close battle with Portugal – losing two close three-set matches to knock them out of top four contention.
It was another tough defeat for the Brits in the next round – bowing out to Netherlands 2-1 in similar fashion.
British No.1 Christian Medina Murphy and Sam Jones took the opening set in their first match against Bram Meijer and Sten Richters, but it was the Dutch pair who came out on top 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Louie Harris and Chris Salisbury then lost another gripping match against Menno Nolten and Bart Van Opstal 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-1.
The Brits would end the week on a high – beating Germany 2-1 in their final match of the week to clinch 7th place.
Medina Murphy and Jones closed out their tournament with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Agustin Reca and Matthias Wunner, before Harris and Salisbury beat Christian Bohnke and Daniel Lingen 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5).
Team Captain John Leach said: "Representing GB in the European Padel Championships is the highlight of the season for any padel player and it was very exiting to see our team face off against the best players in Europe.
"We performed really well to reach the quarter-finals before losing out to a very strong Portugal side in two tight matches. We ended the week on a high by beating Germany which for me was the standout moment of the event on the mens side. Watching Louie Harris and Chris Salisbury come back from 1-4 down in the 3rd set to then win a dramatic tie-break was amazing. It gave the whole team something to celebrate after a long week, the boys will remember that win for long time."
GB men’s team: Christian Medina Murphy, Sam Jones, Louie Harris, Chris Salisbury, Alfonso Patacho, Sandy Farquharson; Francis Langan and Nikhil Mohindra.
Women's team lose to Belgium in final match
In a tricky start in a tough group, the British women’s side lost to Sweden 3-0 in their opener, before a nail-biting 2-1 loss to the Netherlands that came down to the deciding set in the final match.
Despite the disappointment, GB bounced back to beat Estonia 3-0 to finish third in Group D - starting a run of three straight victories.
In the 9th-16th place play-off draw, they breezed past Poland 3-0 – losing just 10 games in three matches – before another comfortable win against Switzerland.
In their first match apart playing the Swiss, British No.1s Aimee Gibson and Tia Norton continued their consistent performances. Gibson and Victoria Nicholas in the first match to beat Larissa Meyer and Noemie Voeffray-Remacle 6-3, 6-4, before Norton and Abigail Tordoff defeated Anouk Faure and Karin Hechenberger 7-5, 6-4. Sophia Haine and Lisa Phillips closed out the win against Gaelle Rey and Lucie Rey 6-3, 6-3.
Finishing up the week in the 9th-10th place play-off the Brits were defeated by Belgium 3-0.
Gibson and Norton lost to Laura Bernard and Elyne Boekykens 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, before straight sets losses in the other matches confirmed 10th place for GB.
Women’s team: Tia Norton, Aimee Gibson, Catherine Rose, Victoria Nicholas, Lisa Phillips, Abigail Tordoff, Sophia Haine and Olivia Smith.
