Aimee Gibson and Catherine Rose’s triumphant four-week tour to Australia and Qatar ended on a sour note after a dispute with governing body FIP over ranking points.
Aimee and Catherine, the British no.1 and no.2 respectively, earned stunning back-to-back victories at the FIP Silver events in Sydney and Melbourne in January, before flying to Qatar and finishing runners-up in a FIP Bronze.
However, both Brits were awarded just 62 ranking points for each of their Australian titles and 18 for their run to the final in Qatar. FIP’s new points guidelines for 2025 show that Silver winners receive 80 points and Bronze runner-up get 22 points respectively. These totals would have taken Aimee over 400 points for the first time.
The Padel Paper enquired about this discrepancy and was told by FIP that the new points system did not come into force until 3 February. However, this was not announced until 17 January – five days after Aimee and Catherine had won their second title in Australia.
Changing the points framework four weeks into the new season also puts Aimee and Catherine at a clear disadvantage, as their performances were not rewarded within the same system as players who win tournaments at the same level from 3 February onwards.
Aimee, who became the first ever British player to make the world’s top 100 as a result of her victory in Melbourne, told The Padel Paper: “We’re pretty upset by it because we made a lot of effort and spent a lot of money travelling to Australia and Qatar. It’s a very long way and a lot of expense.
“We’ve since heard that the new rules will not come in until February, but no-one had been told beforehand. How can they change the rules mid-season without telling anybody?
“After all these tournaments we’ve played it looks like we won’t be properly rewarded, yet other players might get more points for the rest of the season for achieving the same results. It is totally unfair and really frustrating.”
FIP’s statement to The Padel Paper said: “The updated 2025 points system was not yet in effect for the FIP Silver events in Australia and the FIP Bronze in Qatar. The new points system applies only to tournaments starting from February 3, 2025, onwards.
“There will be no updates to Aimee Gibson and Catherine Rose’s points for these events. The registrations for both tournaments closed before the announcement of the new points system.”
Aimee’s rise to British no.1 and 98th in the world since turning pro in June 2023 has been phenomenal. After initially dominating the LTA Grade 1 circuit, she won her first FIP tour title in March last year alongside Spain’s Paula Canivell in Cairo. Since then, she has clocked up the air miles and consistently reached the latter stages of tournaments all over the world. Since last November, she has played six FIP events, won four titles, reached one final and one semi-final.
The last four of those tournaments have been alongside Catherine, now British no.2. Last year, she quit her part-time job as a primary school teacher in London to dedicate herself to padel and is reaping the rewards already. Her world ranking is now 114 and she is on course to be the next Brit to break the double-figure barrier.
