Padel: Chloe and Liam test themselves on the international stage

Tuesday 16 July 2024

Guernsey brother and sister Chloe and Liam De La Mare travelled to Spain in search of ways of developing their game.

Chloe and her doubles partner Rosie Quirk and Liam and his, Stan Hunt, were the first British juniors to compete in an FIP Promises event, the junior branch of the professional tour.

They are all part of the GB Junior squad.

The FIP Promises Tour was set up by the International Padel Federation in 2023 to encourage junior padel players to compete internationally, this year it consists of 17 events across Europe and South America with events in U14, U16 and U18 categories.

Chloe, Rosie, Liam and Stan are all coached by Dan Troy of the DT Padel Academy.

Pictured (l-r):  Chloe De La Mare, Rosie Quirk, Liam De La Mare and Stan Hunt.

Aware they were not facing stiff opposition in their age range at home, he organised this week’s trip to Alicnate to allow them the chance to train with Spanish coaches before testing themselves against some of the top juniors in the World. 

Liam and Stan faced tough opposition in their first round match coming up against the number two seeds, Aaron Garcia Rubio and José Domingo Martinez Garcia. 

Aaron Garcia Rubio is also the U14 Junior World Champion. 

Liam and Stan outperformed expectations but lost 6-2, 6-3. 

Pictured (l-r): Stan Hunt, Liam De La Mare, Lucca Carlesso Leaes and Agustin Alvarez Puente.

“I felt like we played really well,” said Liam.

“They were obviously very good, but we were always in the games, even if we lost them, so I don’t feel like we are actually that far off the level over here in Europe.” 

In the back draw, they did not find any easier opposition, facing the number 32 ranked U16 player in the world, Lucca Carlesso Leaes, and Agustin Alvarez Puente, from Brazil and Ecuador respectively. 

The experience of the Latin American pair proved too much for the British duo and they lost 2-6, 2-6.

Stan said: “To be able to come out here and play against some of the best juniors has been a great experience for us. Although we didn’t win, we played well and it has inspired us to keep training as we now know we can be competitive on the world stage.”

Rosie and Chloe put in some strong performances in the U16 age category where many players were a couple of years older than them. 

After winning their first round match 6-3, 6-3, they lost in the quarter-finals to the Spanish pairing of Covadonga Verdejo Saiz and Ines Mendoza Palazón, 6-2, 6-4. 

Pictured (l-r): tan Hunt, Liam De La Mare, Jose Domingo Martinez Garcia and Aaron Garcia Rubio.

Covadonga is the current number one in the FIP Junior rankings and the second highest ranked junior in Spain. 

“Rosie and I have only been playing together since March so to get a win in our first FIP Promises event has been amazing,” said Chloe, 13.

“We had chances against the best ranked junior in Spain and I can’t wait till we have the opportunity to try again.” 

Partner Rosie, 14, added: “When I started playing padel six months ago, I never imagined that I would be competing at this level. I am loving playing with Chloe and we are both so excited for the future.”

Troy said it had been an amazing experience for four players to test themselves against the best players in the World in their age group. 

“To be competitive at such early stages of their padel journeys is just amazing. I am so proud of them all and how they have represented the DT Padel Academy with such professionalism and joyfulness. 

“It shows that with good training, structure and support, these juniors have the capabilities to really progress in the sport to a much higher level.”

Despite the LTA deciding not to send a junior team to the European Championships later this year, the two pairs are hoping to travel to Budapest to compete in the open pairs event, if they can secure some funding to help cover the travel costs. 

They also hope to secure additional funding to the help already provided by Padel Shack, to allow them to travel to more FIP Promises events later this year and next, as well as for training blocks on the continent.

Pictured top: Chloe and Liam De La Mare.