Aimee Gibson says Great Britain’s women have “earned respect” from Europe’s big guns as they head to Cadiz for this week’s FIP Euro Padel Cup Final 8.
GB women are seeded fifth for the climatic stage of the Euros at the bullring at Linea de la Concepción, having qualified by beating Austria, Poland and Sweden, in dramatic style, in the qualifiers in Madrid in July.
At this stage, the ‘big four’ — Spain, Italy, France and Portugal — join the fray alongside GB and their fellow qualifying nations, Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
Monday night’s draw will feature two groups of four, with the top two in each group going through to Friday’s semi-finals and the bottom two heading straight home. GB are guaranteed to face two of the ‘big four’, plus one of the other three qualifiers. The action starts on Tuesday (21 October).
“We know that if we perform well we can beat the likes of Germany, Belgium or the Netherlands,” Aimee told The Padel Paper. “As for the semis? You never know. There’s always a chance.
“We have to look at it as a nice opportunity to play against such high-level players in the Spain or Italy teams. We can play freely and just enjoy it. France and Portugal will be tough too, but this is the strongest team we’ve probably ever had. We have countries in there we know we can beat.
“We finished 10th last year [at the European Championships in Sardinia] so to be seeded fifth shows the improvement in one year. A lot of countries will look at us and think it certainly won’t be a walkover. We’ve earned respect.
“We’ve got four or five players now that are competing on the FIP circuit. As each year goes by we’re getting used to playing against these higher level players so it doesn’t come as a surprise any more. Our confidence is improving.”
Read more: GB’s men ready for ‘the big boys’ at FIP Euro Padel Cup Final 8
Aimee and GB no.3 Tia Norton were barely troubled in the qualifiers as GB’s no.1 pairing, with GB no.2 Catherine Rose and Lisa Phillips also unbeaten. Rosie Quirk, who celebrated her 16th birthday with the squad on Saturday, made her debut in Madrid and will once again wear the GB badge.
Aimee has followed Rosie’s progress since the very beginning when she started lessons with her former coach Dan Troy at Brentwood in Essex. Rosie was a role model to the younger girls at the recent FIP Junior World Cup in Reus, and now Aimee is Rosie’s role model in the senior team.
“I see Rosie and Chloe [de la Mare, Rosie’s regular junior partner] as little sisters,” said Aimee. “I am a role model to them, which I love.
“Rosie just gets her head down and works hard, which I really like. On court, you can’t really tell what she’s thinking, she plays her cards quite well. I was really proud of her in Madrid. To see how confident she is now is really lovely.”
GB women will once again be supported by LTA National Performance Pathway Manager, Libby Fletcher, and Argentine Agustin Silingo, the legendary former world champion and coach of the great Juan Lebron, who was also on the GB bench at the qualifiers in Madrid.
“He made a massive difference,” reflected Aimee. “He’s got such an aura about him. In Madrid, people were coming over asking for pictures and his autograph. So when he’s on your bench, that means something.”
The draw for the group stage takes place on Monday evening at Linea de la Concepción. The group stages begin at 10am local time on Tuesday.
All the details on the FIP Euro Padel Cup Final 8 on the official website
The Padel Paper will bring you all the latest from Cadiz throughout the week
