Pic: Dorado Padel Centre
By RJ Mitchell
LOUIE HARRIS has admitted that consistency will be his watchword as he attempts to develop from promising newcomer to elite performer in sport’s fastest-growing racket discipline.
In part two of The Padel Paper’s exclusive interview with the Great Britain international, Harris has revealed just where he needs to make the improvements to gain direct entry into the game’s ‘Major’ tournaments such as next month’s Paris Premier Padel Major.
While having secured a runners-up finish at the recent LTA National Padel Tour event in Stratford the Welsh Wizard admits to great excitement at the game’s impressive growth under the guidance of the LTA.
There is even time to supply a useful development pointer for the club player from the 19-year-old whom many informed padel cognoscenti are tipping for a stellar future.
But first what is it going to take to help Harris make the quantum leap from supporting cast to leading man in padel’s increasingly bright and big picture?
The native of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, was candid in his conclusion: “My coach Salvi; Salvador Santiago, is originally from Sevilla and we are working on a few things now to make my game more complete, more all round and develop a tactic to help me achieve my best in each game.
“We have been working together for almost two years and I’m based at the Alhambra del Golf in Marbella and very happy there.
“Each player has his own strong points and weak points and in a match it is about being able to play to my strengths rather than my weaknesses.
“But in terms of developing my own play it is getting that super consistency and being able to produce the right shot at the right time even under pressure, escape those moments where most players panic and make sure you are getting the tough balls back.
“So it’s about doing everything consistently as much of the time as you can and eliminating unforced errors and silly mistakes. These are the fundamentals to get to the next level.”
After sampling success in Stratford, where Harris and his domestic competition partner Sam Jones were runners-up to the vastly experienced Spanish pairing of Fernandez Sota and Martinez Del Campo, the Welshman admits that the burgeoning UK padel scene, being hot-housed into increasingly verdant growth by the LTA, really excites him.
The 19-year-old said: “It is very exciting the way things are going. The first few years I played padel I never ever played in the UK and now from this year the LTA are really developing it with more tournaments and better conditions and that is very exciting.
“To be able to play in tournaments at a good level in my home country is just fantastic and I am really looking forward at competing in a few more of these especially after coming second at Stratford.
“Really the big difference between Sam and myself and the Spanish pairing was experience and the longevity of their partnership. They have played a lot of padel together over a few years and that really stood them in good stead when it got tough.
“But we took them to a deciding set and I like to think we gave the crowd an exciting and entertaining match to enjoy and both Sam and I will learn from the experience.
“Going forward for me when it comes to the UK my next tournament will probably be a FIP (International Padel Federation) event in August and that is something I am excited for.”
Of course as padel’s inexorable growth as a sport continues there are now two global governing bodies competing for professional players’ loyalty and commitment with the WPT (World Padel Tour) and FIP both developing their own tours in a fissure that recalls the scenario experienced by tennis when it turned professional in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
But Harris is pragmatic about the situation: “It has slightly impacted on me but what it means for most players now is that you have to focus on one of the two. That said it is getting to a stage where they are now separate, especially from next year, and as a player you will have to decide which you are going to commit to play in.
“Both organisations have a different ranking and points systems and you will have to favour the one which is most beneficial for yourself and make your call from there.”
When it comes to the remainder of 2022, Harris admits his appetite for ranking points is insatiable as he hopes to develop into an automatic entry for padel’s major tournaments and he said: “My priority is simple and that is to play as many of these FIP International tournaments and collect as many points as I can to raise my ranking.
“That will allow me going into 2023 to have a really good chance of entering all the competitions like the Majors at the Foro Italico in Rome and Roland-Garros in Paris.
“But to do that I need a good amount of points; this is my first year of trying to build to that and it is all very exciting and the sport is just growing super-fast, it’s better than it’s ever been so it’s just the best time to be a Pro Padel player.”
The affable Welshman was also keen to share a tip that will stand the average club padel player in good stead as they look to develop and improve their game.
He said: “The best piece of advice I can give is to play as often as possible with different people to try and experience and understand different styles so you can really build your game.
“I think variety really helps in that regard and it also keeps things interesting. But as you get used to the different ways people have of playing padel it can only serve to broaden your own game and help with the learning process and that is something I have always valued personally as a young player coming through.”
