Teenager Ethan Bardo organised what’s thought to be the UK’s largest ever spectator padel event as 150 people flocked to watch a spectacular three-day pro-am jamboree in Essex.
Bardo, named as one of the Padel Paper’s stars of the future last year, has been an immense success since Prested Tennis Club took a chance by appointing the 18-year-old as its Head Coach and Padel Manager last August.
As well as growing padel participation within just a few months at the members’ club in Colchester, Bardo is also connecting with the community by organising padel sessions for residents of a local old people’s home. But the innovative PTC Open pro-am tournament on January 13-15 was his finest achievement to date.
After a social event on the Friday night, the amateur tournament for club players took place on Saturday. Twenty-five players travelled from as far afield as Harrogate and Plymouth and competed in four groups of five, followed by semis and a final.
It was a gruelling day for the finalists, starting at 9am and finishing after 7.30pm. All semi-finalists chose their own walk-on music and there was a light show as they entered the court. “It was like the Ally Pall of padel!” said Bardo.
The amateur winners received goodies from event sponsors Dropshot and the trophy presentation included a confetti can and fanfare. However, the most coveted prize was a wildcard into the professional tournament the following day.
All the big guns of UK padel were in the pro draw: Theo Garton, Alfonso Patacho, Jorge Martinez, Rafa Vega, Chris Salisbury, Ryan Wyatt and Bardo himself (currently 15th in the LTA Padel rankings). There were 11 pro players in all.
The winning pair in Saturday’s amateur tournament included a certain Paul Bardo, Ethan’s dad. He received a wildcard for the Sunday – and the first round draw pitted father against son!
“That was quite cool,” said Bardo junior. “Luckily, we gave them a seeing-to, but myself and Theo lost 6-4, 6-3 to Alfonso and Chris in the semi-finals.”
Salisbury and Alfonso beat Martinez and Vega in the final. “We lost to the eventual winners, which doesn’t break my heart as much,” chuckled Bardo.
The pro tournament saw a packed house, each spectator paying £5 per ticket. The club had extra stadium seating installed, live commentary and the same light show and musical walk-ons that the amateurs had so enjoyed on the Saturday.
Over 50 players competed across the weekend and the pro winners collected £350 per person, with £150 for the runners-up, all donated by the club.
“It was just a really, really amazing event,” said Ethan. “All the players loved it and I just hope other clubs see what we did and put something similar on themselves.
“Some might even prefer an invitational event to an LTA competition because we had more prize money, more fun, it was less strict and a lot more relaxed because there were no ranking points on the line. It was more like an exhibition than a competitive tournament.
“The biggest thing for me wasn’t the financial benefits it was about spreading padel. I love padel so much – it’s just about growing the sport.
“People are increasingly seeing padel as a business opportunity in the UK, and not as a social opportunity. But I see it as a way of getting people together.”
The tournament’s success justified Prested Tennis Club’s faith in Bardo. He left school at 17 and studied video editing at college, but quit when an apprenticeship opportunity came up at a different local padel facility. When Prested’s previous padel manager left, Bardo persuaded the club’s management to hire him on a three-month probation period. That period elapsed in November.
“I just love being on court coaching,” he says. “It was a big leap coming into this job but I have absolutely loved it. We’re about to employ another padel coach so I can concentrate on admin and organising events, as well as competing on the LTA Tour alongside Toby Bawden. I want to break into top 10 at least this year.”
You wouldn’t bet against him.
