Great Britain’s ladies’ and men’s teams begin their FIP Senior Euro Padel Cup campaigns in Valencia today (Monday 6 October) aiming to better respective eighth and 10th placed finishes from 2023.
The FIP Senior Euro Padel Cup brings together Europe’s greatest male and female talent in the +35, +40, +45, +50, and +55 age categories.
Speaking to The Padel Paper, Karen Hazzard, who represented Great Britain in 2019 and 2022 in the World Championships and European Championships respectively, said the women’s team had benefited from heading out two days early to get in some training.
Karen said: “I’ve gone to tournaments where you arrive on the morning or the night before, and they can be a bit of a rush, so it’s nice that we’ve had the opportunity to get there and settle in and practice.”
Karen and partner Lucie Wade are set to face Veera Nurmi and Michaela Björnström from Finland in the first round of the Open National Pairs.
Karen expressed some trepidation but is still ready for the challenge: “I feel excited. I think I want to prepare a little more, if I’m being honest, but everyone’s their biggest critic, aren’t they?”
She also spoke about the effort that goes into preparing for an international tournament, and how she and Lucie juggle the training alongside their full-time jobs.
She said: “It alters your your day-to-day schedule, because also there’s the fitness element — in terms of weight training and stretching and that kind of thing for both fitness on the court, explosive power, and then also injury prevention. And then, obviously, we have our day jobs.”
Held in Valencia’s Family Sport Center, the teams competition follows a tie format, with each tie consisting of the best of five matches in a round robin format.
Each match is best of three sets, but whilst the +45, +40, and + 35 categories will play a regular tiebreak, the +55 and +50 categories will play a super tiebreak as the third set instead.
The event sees 22 men’s teams and 18 women’s teams qualify, with GB’s men ranking 10th and the women ranking 8th, based on rankings from 2023.
Follow the draw, latest scores and results from the 2025 FIP Seniors Euro Padel Cup here
GB men’s team:
Coach: Alex Grilo Acosta
+35s Maniel Bains Andrew Brigham Jack Hazelwood Elliot Selby (captain)
+40s Ali Anderson Richard Brooks James Southwood Mike Tolman
+45s Ben Gudzelak Ross Murdoch Gareth Nicol Mark Openshaw
+50s Nick Baglin John Dunseath Andrew Warren (captain) Steven Wood
+55s Keith Gilbert Kingsley Harris Chris Warren Peter Wright
GB women’s team:
Coach: Belen Castrillo de la Cruz
Susie Azoulay Sophie Cousins Helen Crook Angela Wood Victoria Davies Sally Fisher Dawn Foxhall (Captain) Sarah Lochrie Carol Prado Jo Ward (Captain) Kerry White Reserves: Louise Baker Nicky Horn
Opens Pairs event: Teresa Catlin, Helen Cowlrick, Gilly Smail, Karen Hazzard, Lucie Wade
Story by The Padel Paper correspondent Emily Nutbean
