Femme Open UK, the premier women’s padel network, hosted an International Women’s Day event in partnership with The Hurlingham Foundation raising £1,625 to fund girls’ padel lessons in the UK.
The event was hosted by the Head of Femme Open UK, Pepita Stonor, with a panel of women in sport including Sky Sports broadcaster Gigi Salmon, TeamGB hockey international Sophie Bray and British number one padel player Tia Norton.
The padel discussed the barriers for girls entering sport, leadership for girls in sport and how girls can be comfortable being competitive.
Pep (pictured below) said: “The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “Inspire Inclusion” and that resonates with us in the padel community. Padel is a really accessible and inclusive sport and that’s why we are raising money today to help young girls try out this game.”
Tia added: “I started out playing tennis but switched to padel when I was 12 years old. Padel is a much friendlier sport, and there is more freedom to be innovative, because it’s still in its infancy.
“When I started out there, I was only able to compete against men, but now there are more girls and women participating. With more support from the LTA, more TV coverage and access to try out the game via initiatives like the one Femme Open are championing today, the situation is going to continue improving.”
Femme Open UK plans to use funds from both events to offer primary school-aged girls free padel lessons, starting this September. The company recently hosted its first ever junior event at The Padel Hub in Slough offering a free taster session for girls who wanted to try out this inclusive sport.
Femme Open UK will also be raising funds for extending padel provision for girls at its event at The Hurlingham Club in June, in partnership with The Hurlingham Foundation.
The Femme Open brand was initially formed in Sweden in 2018 to provide a way for women to play padel, stay healthy, have fun and make friends.
