Great Britain’s boys’ and girls’ padel teams are competing in the FIP Junior World Cup together for the first time this week with a 17-player squad heading to Reus in Spain.
The global NextGen event will bring together 66 teams from 36 countries (compared to 20 in the previous edition in 2023). The event is being held across three venues: Aurial Reus Mas Sedó, Club Tennis Reus Monterols and Pavelló OlÃmpic de Reus (indoor).
Format
There are separate boys’ and girls’ competitions with each match consisting of one U14, U16 and U18 clash.
Great Britain’s campaigns begin on Friday (26 September) when they take part in a three-day qualifying competition. The draw takes place on Thursday night. The qualifying format is regionalised into Europe, Africa/Asia and America. There are two main draw places up for grabs in each of the boys’ and girls’ European qualifying stages.
Teams in European boys’ qualifying: Germany, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Netherlands, Hungary, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Switzerland.
Teams in European girls’ qualifying: Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Netherlands, Hungary, Lithuania and Norway.
Boys’ European qualifying will be split into four groups, with the top team in each going into semi-finals to decide the two main draw qualifiers. The girls’ will be split into two groups of three teams and one group of four teams; the two top teams from the groups of three and two from the group of four will play semi-finals to qualify for the final phase.
Should GB seal qualification on Sunday, the main draw then begins on Monday 29 September and concludes on Saturday 4 October. So, the trip could last four days or 12 days, depending on the GB players’ performance over the coming weekend. Full info here
“It’s really exciting…”
Coming just a few weeks into the new school term, that has caused something of a logistical headache for the LTA, the coaching team, parents and players, who have had to book outbound flights only at this stage without knowing when they’ll be returning.
“The logistics of it all have been made very difficult but I was determined to take a team this year,” LTA National Performance Pathway Manager Libby Fletcher told The Padel Paper.
“When I took my new role in February, I was committed to taking a team to a major championships and my vision has been backed by the LTA.
“It’s going to be an amazing experience for the juniors. We’re competing at the World Championships for the first time in five years, and even then we didn’t take a girls’ team.
“I’m delighted that we’ve managed to enter both teams and we’ve got some experienced international players. It’s really exciting. It will be an amazing learning experience for the kids, myself and the team of coaches.”
The GB boys’ and girls’ teams includes Lucy Bertram, currently GB no.1 at U14 (pictured top) who trains at Rocks Lane in London and SmashPadel in Bicester. There are in fact six players in the squad from SmashPadel Bicester, whose programmes are being recognised as a standard-bearer for effective junior development.
One of the SmashPadel squad members, Andrew Dunn, who is ranked 15th in the world at U14, said: “I’m very excited. I’ve been playing in lots of FIP Junior tour events recently but obviously they’re just me and my partner. I think it will be a really nice change of pace to be playing in a team, especially when it’s representing your country.”
There is a separate pairs competition in Reus next week but Great Britain will only be allowed to enter if they reached the main draw of the team event.
The Padel Paper will bring you news of GB’s progress in the qualifying stage of the 2025 FIP Junior World Cup on Sunday evening.
Live scores, draws and further information on the 2025 FIP Junior World Cup can be found on the FIP website
