Aimee Gibson & Victoria Nicholas capture FIP Rise Manila title to make it five GB women in FIP top 200
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British No.1 Aimee Gibson and fellow GB padel teammate Victoria Nicholas got their hands on silverware this weekend as they lifted the FIP Rise Manila title in the Philippines.
Second seeds Gibson and Nicholas enjoyed an impressive week, reaching the women’s doubles final without dropping a set – including a 6-1, 6-4 win over fourth seeds Elisabeth Nogueras Lorenz and Kotomi Ozawa in the semi-final.
They were set to face Rosalie van der Hoek and Carla Fernandez Gonzalez in the final, but the top seeds conceded ahead of the match – handing the title to the all-British partnership.
It’s another highlight in a standout season for 33-year-old Gibson, who has now won two FIP trophies this year, as well as reaching two other finals and seven semi-finals.
For Nicholas it’s a first FIP-level title and it has seen her jump 46 places in the women’s rankings to world No.166.
"I'm really happy with my second title of the year," said Gibson. "I’ve been in three FIP Rise finals and have lost so to come away with a win makes me happy. I had won a Promotion event earlier this year, so a goal was to try and win a Rise. I’m happy I was able to do that especially with Vic a good friend and fellow Brit.
"I started off the year as world No.260 - I never ever thought this would be my ranking. My main goal was to be inside the top 150 but once I did that, I think it gave me extra confidence to know I can achieve higher. My main goal now is to be inside the top 100 next year."
The British padel stars have been in strong form of late and on the women’s side, there are now five players ranked inside the top 200.
GB women’s padel rankings
- Aimee Gibson (world No.121)
- Tia Norton (world No.127)
- Lisa Phillips (world No.142)
- Catherine Rose (world No.148)
- Victoria Nicholas (world No.166)
Hopefully as we all continue to have success we can inspire more young players and girls to pick up a racket and play padel.
"I’m not sure if two British women have ever won an international event together so that’s cool," Gibson continued.
"We now have five players in the top 200, which is fantastic. Hopefully as we all continue to have success we can inspire more young players and girls to pick up a racket and play padel. I think this is just the start for British padel and we all want to play our part in getting the next generation involved in our sport."
Britain’s Lisa Phillips played up in a FIP Star tournament in Mauritius this week alongside Swiss No.1 Karin Hechenberger, where she progressed to the semi-finals.
Phillips – who is now the British No.3 at a career-high ranking of world No.142 – has picked up 44 ranking points in the last two weeks and has found some of her best performances in higher level events this season.
British No.2 Tia Norton also reached her second consecutive FIP Rise semi-final this weekend with her Dutch partner Stephanie Weterings.
The fourth seeds won four matches before losing against Italian duo Emily Stellato and Martina Parmigiani 6-2, 6-4.
Norton has won a FIP Promotion title, made a FIP Rise final and three semi-finals in the last two months alone, as she continues to finish the season on a high.
All the signs are positive for the performance players aiming to break into the top 100 over the coming years and GB women’s captain Libby Fletcher has been impressed by her team’s progress.
“We have tried to create a high-performance environment, and all the players have worked extremely hard this year,” she said.
“It's great to see the hard work and commitment really paying off with some fantastic results for the girls over the last month. Their determination and focus on the daily processes are now showing successful results which is reflected in the new high rankings."
On the men’s side, British No.2 Sam Jones made the final of the FIP Rise Manila as well – teaming up with Dutch player Julian Prins.
Jones and Prins fought hard to knock out second seeds Sergi Guimet Bigas and Joel Olivera Palos 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the semi-finals, but were eventually defeated by Sergi Nogueras Lorenz and Marc Bernils Garcia in the finals 7-5, 7-5.
The week before, British No.1 Christian Medina Murphy also made the FIP Gold Potosi quarter-finals and is now up at a career-high world No.116.
Medina Murphy and Spanish partner Alberto Garcia Jimenez are set to compete at the FIP Platinum Mexico this week – the highest level of FIP event before reaching the Premier Padel Tour.
