Great Britain’s results in the FIP Senior World Cup were confirmed over the weekend. The men’s side finished third in their group, meaning they competed for positions 17-24 – coming joint 17th – while the women’s side finished second in their group, and competed for positions 9-16 in the final stage, where they came 13th.
GB victories came courtesy of Ben Gudzelak and Javier Etayo Fernandez (7-5, 6-3), Michael Tolman and James Southwood (6-0, 6-2) and Christopher Warren and Michael Thorpe (6-0, 6-1). They went 3-0 up against Canada to win their five-match tie, before the Canadians won the final two games, leaving the final score at 3-2.
The British men’s team had been in a group with Spain, Germany and Egypt, with results at that stage going 5-0 in favour of the Spaniards and 3-2 to Germany, but the Brits put on a strong showing by beating Egypt 5-0 to finish third in the group.
The women, meanwhile, had a tremendous comeback, having gone 2-0 down to Germany before winning three matches on the spin to confirm their winning finish to the tournament.
Victories came from Helen Crook and Victoria Davies (6-2, 6-3), Sally Fisher and Teresa Catlin (6-1, 6-4) and Ashley Mears and Rosemary Dennis 6-0, 6-0, as they finished 13th overall.
In the group stage, GB won six games out of 10, one coming against Belgium and the other five in a sweep against Ecuador.
The full results of the FIP Senior World Cup can be found on the governing body’s website here.
GB Captain details ‘immense pleasure’
GB men’s captain, Drew Warren, said of the week: “The finishing position was an improvement from last year’s World Champs. It was a good feeling securing 17th with victories over Ecuador and Canada.
“It’s always an immense pleasure and honour captaining Great Britain. The team fought well and the team spirit helped us secure our highest place.
“17-hour flights and daily journeys of around an hour per day added to the challenge of acclimatisation to new courts and conditions and playing against the best players from each country.
“The standout moments included our over-55 pair bravely fighting back from 9-6 in the third-set tie break to unfortunately double faulting to narrowly lose 11-9.
Argentina scooped the men’s trophy at the end of the tournament, and Drew was pleased he got to see legends in action for them.
“Watching the Argentina team with padel greats [Miguel] Lamperti and [Agustin Gomez] Silingo beating Spain was memorable,” he adds.
