Guernsey padel players in Team GB

Friday 18 February 2022

Two local padel players, Patrick Ogier and Rob West, will represent Great Britain next weekend in the veteran's World Championships qualifying tournament.

They will play for a place in the finals which take place in Las Vegas later this year.

The qualifying event is in Dublin over the weekend of 25 - 27 February. Mr Ogier and Mr West will form the over 35s pair in the Great Britain team. 

Each team comprises five pairs in different age categories from seven European countries competing for four qualifying places at the World Championships. 

The other countries vying for the final spots are Sweden, Denmark, France, Holland, Germany and Ireland. The draw for groups takes place next Tuesday. 

Pictured: Patrick Ogier (left) and Rob West in action on the court.

Mr West and Mr Ogier are familiar faces on the island’s tennis scene. They have represented Guernsey many times at the Island Games and Mr Ogier also competed at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. 

Since padel arrived in Guernsey in 2017, they have enjoyed the challenge of moving to a new sport and have consistently placed at the top of the island’s rankings. They have won trophies at the Island Championships and helped lead Guernsey to a convincing victory against Jersey in last year’s inter-insular.

This is the first time that either of them has represented Great Britain. 

Mr West said: “It is a huge honour to be selected for Team GB and we can’t wait to travel to Dublin to try our best to help the team qualify for the the World Championships. 

“Padel is a sport that we have all come to really enjoy playing and it will be really interesting to be able to test our level against some of the best players from Europe.”  

Pictured: The Guernsey Padel Club is located next to the Guernsey Tennis Club in St. Sampson's.

Mr Ogier said: “Pulling on a Guernsey jersey has always been something really special for me and the chance to take that one further and compete for Great Britain is really exciting. 

“Playing padel overseas, especially after the travel restrictions of the pandemic, will be really challenging as we will have to deal with different courts, conditions and games styles to those we have become used to in Guernsey. 

“I hope we can help Britain qualify for the World Championships as well as shining a light on Guernsey sport in the process.”

Padel has enjoyed a surge in popularity across the world in recent years, including in Guernsey. The island currently has three indoor courts with planning permission granted for two more courts to be added in the next few months. 

A third Guernsey player, Jon Young, was also put forward for selection but was unable to make the tie due to prior commitments. 

Pictured (top): Patrick Ogier (left) and Rob West.