Great Britain’s women finished on a positive note at the FIP Euro Padel Cup Final 8 in Cadiz even though their campaign ended with an early exit.
Handed a beastly Group B draw with last year’s runners-up Italy, fourth seeds France and eighth seeds Germany in Linea de la Concepción’s bullring, Libby Fletcher’s team went into day one in the shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar with realistic expectations.
On the first two days they went down to 3-0 defeats by France and Italy, but secured a third-place finish in the group by beating Germany 2-1 on Thursday morning thanks to victories from Tia Norton & Aimee Gibson and Catherine Rose & Lisa Phillips.
With no play-offs for finishing positions, GB head home to reflect on the lessons learned from being across the net from the likes of France legends Carla Touly and Alix Collombon and Italy’s world no.29 Carolina Orsi.
“We’ve seen huge improvements,” GB coach Libby told The Padel Paper from Cadiz. “We would have been nowhere near this level 18 months ago.
“We’re playing against tough teams who have players at the top of the sport. We expected it to be very difficult but we’re walking away from our team debriefs today with lots of things to work on. For me we’re in a good situation.”
Catherine and Lisa took the opening set against France on Tuesday then had chances to win a set against Italy on Wednesday. Chances were otherwise at a premium in those two opening matches, but the victory over Germany ended the trip on a more buoyant note.
“We don’t play or train consistently at that level, so it takes us a while to adjust to it,” reflected Libby. “If anything we tried a bit too hard at times, when we just needed to stick to the game plan. That’s down to experience. For me, we need to be 10% better at our game plan, not try to force things.”
Libby hopes to adjust GB’s players’ training schedules to keep up with the standards set by Europe’s top nations.
“We have to be more physically prepared. That’s a big learning. These big countries in padel are physically able to repeat those movements and shots. Padel is a very physical game and we have to keep up with the advancements everybody else is making.”
On day one, Rosie Quirk — who only celebrated her 16th birthday on Saturday — was given the nerve-racking task of opening GB’s campaign against France, playing alongside Abigail Tordoff, who is over 30 years her senior.
Facing Carla Touly and Lea Godallier, the world nos.74 and 61 respectively, was an extremely tough ask but the Brits landed a few blows in a 6-1 6-1 defeat.
“Rosie is absolutely unflustered,” said Libby. “She went into that match the same way she goes into every match, with the same mentality, and amazing attitude to get on with the job.”
GB’s top pair Aimee Gibson and Tia Norton then faced another daunting challenge up against French legend Alix Collombon and partner Jessica Ginier Barbier. That slipped by quickly 6-1 6-2 and the defeat was sealed.
Lisa Phillips and GB no.3 Catherine Rose got a set on the board in the third tie against Lucile Pothier and Louise Bahurel but went down 3-6 6-4 6-0.
There was no let-up in the high level on day two as second seeds Italy had a little too much experience and nous for the Brit girls.
Laura Jackson partnered Abi this time and they went down 6-1 6-0 in the first tie. Aimee and Tia could make little impression on Italy’s top pair Carolina Orsi and Emily Stellato (world nos. 29 and 102 respectively), going down 6-0 6-3.
It was GB no.2 pairing Lisa and Catherine who again made the biggest imprint in a 7-5 6-2 defeat to Giulia Dal Pozzo and Martina Parmigiani.
It was the third-day match with eighth seeds Germany on Thursday morning where GB gained some traction.
Tia and Aimee weren’t at their fluent best but posted a 6-2 2-6 6-2 victory over Milla Blaschke and Celina Ermann.
Catherine and Lisa started slowly before sealing Britain’s consolation team victory via a 2-6 6-1 6-1 triumph against Corina Scholten and Lena Plümer. Abi and Laura couldn’t complete the clean sweep as they lost 6-4 6-1.
“Today the girls showed unbelievable resilience [against Germany],” said Libby. “The conditions were windy and when they weren’t playing very well, they dug in and showed grit and determination. I couldn’t be prouder of the efforts the girls have made.
“They get on really well and look out for each other. That’s one of the main differences we’ve seen over the last two years. We’ve developed a really healthy team culture. They spend so many weeks of the year on their own, they enjoy being with each other and I enjoy being with them too.”
