In a two-part Padel Paper exclusive, John Leach – Head Coach of the GB men’s team, co-founder of the HOP Tour and one of The Padel Paper’s six most influential people in British padel, has taken a look back (but not in anger) over 2022.
Former GB captain and one-time LTA Padel Tour no.1, Leach skippered the national team in four major international championships between 2010-2018.
The 43-year-old also led Great Britain to a second successive World Championship Finals place in Dubai in November where the team consolidated its place among the world’s top 16 padel nations.
Yet there have been frustrations, with GB’s failure to win a pool tie in Dubai – in what was admittedly the tournament’s ‘Group of Death’ – consigning us to the status of play-off also-rans.
Despite that, Leach is also playing a key part in encouraging the game’s next generation of male stars while over the last year he has also become GB Men’s Veterans Head Coach.
Plenty to chew on then, so let’s start by dissecting Great Britain Men’s World Championship campaign, the route for which was paved by a successful revenge mission over Germany at We Are Padel Derby in October.
Looking back, John reflected: “For me the highlight as a team has to be reaching the World Cup and qualifying against Germany. The decisive victory of Christian Murphy and Sam Jones in the last rubber is one that I don’t think any of us will ever forget. With them having beaten us at the World Cup in 2021 it was that bit sweeter!
“Just to arrive in Dubai and gain that vital exposure against the very best, like playing the defending champions Spain in a World Cup – as a learning experience, it doesn’t get much better than that.
“The other side of that coin was the disappointment of not getting over the line and securing the win against Uruguay in the group section. We came so close, so that was a frustration but that is international sport at the top end.
“To land in a group featuring the defending world champions Spain, Portugal who made the semis and then Uruguay who were quarter-finalists last time around, made it a very tough tournament for us but that is what you expect when you go to a World Cup.
“For sure, we would like to have notched a victory in the group stage and we came so close against Uruguay, when we were almost in a winning position. That is the one thing which we all look back on and regret we couldn’t get it done.
“But the more events we get to go as a team and play against the level of opposition we met at the Worlds, the more it will give us the vital top-end experience we need. It was a big learning curve for us and we have to make sure we use that experience next year.”
Another huge plus for the GB men’s team was the emergence of Christian Medina Murphy as the group’s undoubted leader of the pack. His Head Coach is anticipating big things in 2023 from the GB No.1.
Leach said: “Christian had an amazing week in Mijas recently, reached his first final and had some very good wins along the way. His ranking has gone up to around 165 as a result, so I think it is really important that he keeps developing and pushing his ranking up.
“We have big hopes for Christian next year and he can now go and train and then play tournaments whereas he has had to study previously. Christian shoulders his responsibility well as the GB No.1 and his game is only going in one direction.”
As The Padel Paper has highlighted, the next generation of young guns is already starting to ride onto the horizon and Leach has revelled in his role of playing the wise old hand dispensing wisdom, encouragement and technical tuition.
The GB Men’s coach said: “It is important to keep everyone in the same bubble and I want to include the young players when we do performance squads as I feel it is important they get experience and understand the level of the guys they are looking up to.
“I always want to engage with these young guys when I see them at tournaments and see what they are up to and offer them encouragement and advice when it’s appropriate.
“It is important to have these young guys feel like they are in the group and that they are encouraged to keep working hard, keep playing the tournaments and train hard to get the results – if they keep doing that, they will find themselves in the mix when it comes to fighting it out for a GB shirt.”
Leach is salivating at the possibility of European Championships, perhaps in October or November. Before that, there are the European Games in Poland in June which see padel making its multisport Games debut.
“It is a stepping stone towards the Olympics but we are still waiting on confirmation,” revealed Leach. “There will be a lot to look forward to for the GB players in the New Year. We have put a lot of emphasis on them playing FIP events and World Padel tournaments when they can and just gaining more and more exposure against the top players.”
Leach is increasingly encouraged by the game’s growing infrastructure in the UK and he admits he is excited to see what 2023 will bring in Blighty: “The sport is growing year on year and the more courts and venues we have and the more tennis clubs add on padel courts, the more it gives new players access to play and allows more tournaments.
He added: “What the LTA are doing is fantastic. They are providing more events, bigger prize money and all these things are part of the building process for padel in the UK. We are definitely getting there and I am excited for 2023.”
In part two, John reveals his hopes and dreams for the GB Men’s Veterans teams as he looks ahead with real optimism towards the New Year.
