International entries for Padel Club tournament

Friday 24 May 2019

With Padel Tennis described as 'the fastest growing sport in the world', excitement is high ahead of the Guernsey Padel Club Tournament which is being held this weekend.

Having been staged last year for the first time, the 2019 event is welcoming an increased number of entries with some international visitors to the island among the 72 who have registered to take part.

Today will see Guernsey host Ireland in the veterans tournament, with each team fielding six players who will compete as pairs. This evening, a social competition is being held for beginners to the sport.

Tomorrow, there is Qualification for The Open which is billed as the main event of the weekend, along with Qualification for Veterans ahead of the finals being played on Sunday.

The local organisers said British Padel Tour organises events like this all over the UK with a very busy calendar meaning it is considered quite a coup for Guernsey to host its own.

Last year's inaugural event in Guernsey was held at Bronze level, while this year the event is a Gold Level meaning it has attracted players from Spain, France, England as well as Ireland for the team event mentioned above.

Mike Watt, Director of Guernsey Padel Club, said; “We are delighted to be staging our second British Padel event in Guernsey.

"Following the success of last year’s event, this year’s tournament has been upgraded to Gold Level, which is a testament to both the standard of our facilities and the growth of this exciting new sport on our island. We are thankful to Redwood Bank for their support and are all looking forward to a successful event.”

While registration has now closed, interest in the sport is expected to continue to grow, with the news that Sir Andy Murray himself has invested in Padel Tennis. 

The Wimbledon champion said recently; “Padel is one of the fastest emerging racket sports in the world right now. It’s great for young people to play a variety of sports and Padel is a fast-paced game which is excellent for developing hand eye co-ordination and racket skills.”

Pictured: The new Guernsey shirts for the Padel Tournament. 

The Gold Level tournament has been sponsored by Redwood Bank. Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder, Gary Wilkinson said: 

“We pride ourselves on being one step ahead of the rest, which is we why we have chosen to support Padel, because it’s still relatively unknown among the masses.  But we firmly believe it’s on the brink of becoming huge. In Spain it is the second most popular sport next to football. Padel is the sport of the future and we wanted to make sure we were supporting the right sport and are excited to be the lead sponsor of the Guernsey event.”

Spectators are welcome to watch the games and see some of the world’s best players in action with free entry to the tennis centre at Longcamps.

Pictured: The 2018 Padel tournament.