Twelve British players have been handed wildcards for the much-anticipated first London Premier Padel P1 in August.
GB women’s no.1 and no.2, Catherine Rose and Aimee Gibson, will play together at Olympia in the main draw, while long-time GB men’s no.1 Christian Medina Murphy also gets a main draw first-round place, partnering Spaniard Alberto Garcia Jimenez.
GB no.2 Louie Harris and no.3 Alex Loughlan, who have forged a fruitful partnership in the last 18 months for Great Britain and on the FIP circuit, also get main draw wildcards, as do GB team-mates Alfonso Patacho and Chris Salisbury.
GB’s top junior Ben Phillips and Spain-based GB no.7 Jamie Lobo Wordsworth are one of three pairs to receive wildcards into the qualification draw in London.
GB no.4 Cameron Dollimore and no.5 Theo Garton will also fly the union flag in the men’s qualies, while GB no.3 Tia Norton teams up with Belgian Helena Wyckaert in the women’s qualifiers.
“It means the world,” Aimee Gibson told The Padel Paper as wildcards were announced this week. “I’m super grateful to the LTA that, even though I’ve been injured for five months, they’ve still put me forward for the main draw.
“I’ve been playing padel for just over three years now and I never would’ve thought I’d be receiving a wildcard for a Premier Padel event, but I’ve worked so hard and I’m super excited to show the best level that I can.”
Aimee and Catherine will play four consecutive FIP tournaments to get into the best possible rhythm ahead of day one of the Premier Padel London P1 on 4 August.
After an extended hiatus due to a severe calf tear, Aimee in particular is savouring the prospect of returning to action on such a huge stage.
“Me and Catherine will enjoy every moment,” said the 34-year-old. “A lot of friends and family have already booked their seats. I like to play to a crowd and it will be incredible to play on that stadium court for the first time.
“The wildcard gives you that opportunity to play against the best in the world. No matter who the draw, we can play without pressure.”
Welshman Louie Harris can’t wait to make his Premier Padel debut, but is typically relaxed about the prospect of a big, partisan crowd and world-class opposition.
“To be completely honest, the crowd and the occasion is not really something that’s been on my mind,” he tells us.
“It’s going to be a new experience but obviously there’s not much you can do to prepare for that. You can’t replicate that in training and we’re not too worried.
“The only thing we can control is arriving in good shape, good rhythm and just enjoy the experience and take it all in. We’ll just focus on the padel.”
The British no.2 says Britain hosting a Premier Padel tournament for the first time is “a bit of a breakthrough moment.”
“It’s massive for British padel and it will also be good to see where we’re at with it, seeing how many people will travel to London and buy tickets.
“Me and Alex are super excited and grateful that the LTA has given us the chance to be on this type of stage and playing this level of opposition. We definitely put up a good fight and if we play our best padel we’ve got a good chance of making them work.”
Find out more info on the London Premier Padel P1
