By Jamie Morris
JAVI SERRATS believes Harrogate will deliver more exciting action on the HOP Padel Tour as the action reaches North Yorkshire this weekend at the Sport And Fitness Centre.
The Spaniard runs Home Of Padel alongside co-founder John Leach with the duo helping to organise padel competitions for early advanced and professional players.
Serrats reckons that the special bond that is maintained with the club is a key factor in helping the growth of the sport.
The event starts on Saturday at 9am before reaching its climax at 6pm with Simon Dickinson and Tony Norwood who won last year’s crown returning in a bid for more glory yet facing each other on opposite sides of the net with new partners.
The HOP supremo said: “The event this weekend is in Harrogate and I believe it is a place that keeps pushing padel and growing it. Last year we had organised an event there as well, it was great, people enjoyed it so much.
“The winners last year were Simon and Tony, this year they are both playing but with different partners, there are some other big names as the runner up from last year Ed Marsden is playing also, he has partnered up with Simon.
“The event last year was slightly bigger; we are organising the event for one day only and we expect to have many players coming over to play in the tournament.”
The format will be a knockout draw with consolation, and 13 pairs have registered. The former LTA tour number one revealed the way the event may unfold could change based on the circumstances if people drop out.
He revealed: “In the event of one pair dropping out, which might be the case, we would then change to a round robin knockout.
“The main reasons for why people come back is the way we organise things and the experience we give to players. Last year it was a total success in Harrogate and one of the biggest we did; it was so sunny and people can watch.
“This competition is smaller because it is a one-day event in a two-court venue so we cannot sign as many entrants up as for reasons of giving the best experience to players we have to limit the number of registered people; it will be about 13 or 14 teams.”
Competition winners can expect rewards which vary from having a Dunlop Pro Bat to earning an MVP Membership, with the prizes accessible to players made possible through sponsors of the event.
Serrats spoke about the importance of recognising potential areas where the organisation could make beneficial changes after attaining feedback which has proved insightful in allowing their players having their voices heard.
He said: “The prize is similar for every tour event; the prizes are a Dunlop Pro bat and also a membership for a club from one of our sponsors and a trophy which is presented by our sponsor. There is also for the runner up a voucher for an online course and equipment from Dunlop.
“One thing we did at the end of last year was send a feedback form to all our players who competed on the tour. The outcome of the survey was good and it was high value feedback and we have tried to improve a couple of things.
“For example we had a comment for a lady’s specific t-shirt as ladies weren’t happy with having a unisex top. So, we have this year offered this possibility.
“Also we are trying to do the events in one day when possible because some players can’t commit for two days. So, we have tried to adapt our tournaments to the majority of the player’s feedback.”
Keep an eye out for our tournament report this weekend.
