The LTA Padel National Championships begin on Thursday (4 December) at Rocket Padel Bristol with eight British champions set to be crowned for the first time.
The championships will bring together GB’s top junior, open and senior padel players to compete for national titles, prize money and LTA ranking points.
Categories for the LTA Padel National Championships:
Open — Men’s and Women’s
U18 — Boys and Girls
50+ — Men’s and Women’s
60+ — Men’s and Women’s
Women’s Open preview
Aimee Gibson, British no.1 and recent winner of three successive FIP circuit titles, will be the show-stopper this weekend. Playing alongside GB no.2 Catherine Rose, the top-seeded pair will take some beating.
GB no.3 Tia Norton is a shock omission from the draw after her intended playing partner Carolina Prado had to withdraw due to knee surgery. GB team-mates Lisa Phillips and Abigail Tordoff are second seeds.
Men’s Open preview
GB no.1 Christian Murphy is partnering former GB squad member Ryan Wyatt in Bristol and the top seeds are expecting a strong challenge from Louis Harris and Alex Loughlan, who were so excellent for GB at the FIP Euro Padel Cup earlier this year.
Long-established pairing Sam Jones and Nikhil Mohindra are seeded third, with Jake Bewley and Theo Garton fourth. Fast-improving LTA no.2-ranked teenager Ben Phillips and GB squad member Jamie Lobo Wordsworth will be dangerous floaters.
How to follow the action from Bristol
Check out all draws and latest scores here
Admission for spectators is free of charge.
The tournament will also be available to stream online via Padel-TV.
‘An exciting debut event’
The LTA are staging the tournament themselves, as opposed to relying on third parties who organise other tournaments on the LTA Padel British Tour on the governing body’s behalf.
“We’re all really excited,” LTA Padel Manager Steve Yeardley told The Padel Paper. “This is an opportunity for the LTA to put on a great show in-house and for players to become the first ever British champions.
“Rather than being a case of responding to demand, this competition is a result of us looking in the mirror. The desire came from the inside. We want to build something we’re proud of.
“We feel we’ve had a really good year. We’ve had four FIPs, nine Grade 1s, 15 Grade 2s, and we’ve got two players in the top 100. Now is a good time to build on that momentum. We want to go further and faster, and the sport is demanding that we do that.”
