Aimee Gibson admits to feeling “a bit emotional” as she prepares to make her FIP Tour comeback this weekend in Belfast after a tortuous five-month injury layoff.
The 34-year-old suffered a badly torn gastrocnemius (calf) muscle in her left leg after falling during a quarter-final at FIP Bronze Bahrain in February.
She was unable to walk without crutches and a protective boot for eight weeks — then a scheduled comeback at FIP Silver London at Padel Hub Whetstone in May had to be abandoned as tests showed her leg was not ready.
Now, finally, she has had the all-clear, and is set to partner Catherine Rose — who has usurped Aimee as British no.1 during her injury break — at this weekend’s FIP Silver R3 Bullpadel Cup – NI Open at Padel54 in Moira, Northern Ireland.
“I do feel a bit emotional about it,” Aimee tells The Padel Paper. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time because I thought I’d be back a bit earlier.
“I’ve never really had a serious injury before and I didn’t realise how hard it would be — the recovery and the mental side. I’m super excited to be back on court with a good friend who makes me feel comfortable.”
Pre-injury, Aimee had been on the crest of a wave. She won three successive FIP titles alongside Spanish partner Alba Perez Mohma late last year and they added another together in February’s FIP Bronze in Doha, boosting Aimee’s world ranking to 89.
But then came the severe calf tear, abruptly scuppering the then-British no.1’s winning momentum. Her world ranking has since slipped to 108. She admits now that the relentless grind of travel and tournaments may have played a part in the injury.
She says: “Even though it’s been such a hard thing to go through, it’s definitely made me realise that I need to give myself time to come home, reflect and go again, whereas before I was coming back from a tournament, going straight to the training court, then getting on the next flight.
“I’ve learned that I need to look after my body a little bit more. Sometimes it’s OK to have a couple of days off, make sure the recovery is on point and spend a little bit of time at home to refresh the mind and body. I think I was probably pushing a little bit too hard.”
That said, Aimee has been pounding the gym machines during her rehab and hitting the practice court with Catherine in recent weeks to accelerate her recovery and be match-ready.
GB’s two leading female players have more reason to put in extra training hours than usual. As revealed on Wednesday (1 July) they are part of a group of British players to be given a main draw wildcard for August’s eagerly-anticipated London Premier Padel P1 at Olympia.
In preparation for that landmark tournament, they will play four consecutive events side-by-side.
The first of those this weekend (2-5 July) in Belfast will feature what organisers claim is the strongest field ever assembled for a UK padel tournament, and the first time Northern Ireland has hosted a professional padel event.
The women’s draw features world no.47 Letizia Maria Manquillo Alarza and world no.48 Noemi Aguilar Carrillo. There are a further four pairs with rankings inside 100. Aimee and Catherine are seeded eight.
The men’s draw is headed by top seeds Javier Garrido (world no.19) and Lucas Bergamini (world no.15), with Alex Ruiz (world no.21) and Juanlu Esbrí (world no.24) seeded second. British interest in the men’s draw is led by Christian Medina Murphy who partners Alberto Garcia Jimenez as 10th seeds. Check scores and draws here.
