GB’s no.1 junior pairing Oliver Hayday and Oscar Warneryd are beginning to bloody a few noses in top-level padel – and their immediate aim is to get on the first page of the LTA rankings!
Oscar, 17, and Oliver, who is 17 in July, have both been selected for the LTA’s Great Britain Under-18 Squad that will meet at Rocket Padel Bristol this weekend for the latest in a series of national junior training camps.
Both boys have sponsorship deals (with Adidas and Babolat respectively) and have competed together in five LTA Grade 2 events and one Grade 1 at Stratford, where they got through round one but lost to Ethan Bardo and Olly Cull 6-2 6-4.
Oscar – who lives in Putney, South London and is coached by Chris Salisbury at Roehampton Club – gave up playing rugby for Rosslyn Park three months ago to focus predominantly on padel. Oliver lived in Spain, where he started playing padel seriously during the pandemic, before moving to Tiptree, Essex two years ago. He plays at Padel United in Maldon and Stratford Padel Club.
The pair had never met before striking up a friendship after meeting at a junior tournament last year. Although practice time together is limited by distance between them, they have quickly built a rapport in the heat of battle on the 20×10.
Oscar told The Padel Paper: “Being good friends off the court helps a lot when you’re on the court. When I first started playing with Olly and didn’t know him too well, I thought, ‘Do I mention stuff or just let it go?’ The more we play together, the easier it is to give each other constructive criticism.”
“In the first couple of tournaments, matches would just fly because we wouldn’t really sit down and talk about strategy, but as we play more together it’s much easier to develop a clear game plan and stick to it – and if it’s not working, switch it up.”
Oliver added: “I think we suit each other, because Oscar is the aggressive one and I like to build the points. Oscar finishes off the points and he has a calmer head.”
Oliver’s dad, Marcus Hayday, added a regular spectator’s perspective: “Oscar’s competitive focus rubs off very well on Oliver. He’s got a real will to win but doesn’t let it boil over into frustration. When Oliver looks to his left, he sees Oscar retaining his focus, even if things are going against them on the scoreboard.”
Marcus has seen a maturation in the pair as they play in more LTA Grade 1 and 2 tournaments. “The key for them is reaching the quarter-finals to then be able to compete against top 20 players. They now stay in the points for longer and the next turning point will be converting those long rallies into winning rallies. As soon as that clicks, they’re in a different space.”
The duo will play LTA and FIP Promise events for the rest of the summer and wait to see whether the LTA decide to enter a GB team in the European Junior Padel Championships in Budapest in September.
With the LTA having run two national junior trials – a welcome development – there is real hope from both boys that infrastructure and support for GB’s top-level youngsters will begin to progress quickly.
“It has been a little bit frustrating – I would have liked the LTA to get on board and support all the youngsters a little bit quicker,” said Marcus.
“The LTA certainly have the right intentions and, across all the age groups, there are young boys and girls with lots of talent and potential – for now and the future. For Oliver and Oscar and the others in the Under 18s, my hope is that the LTA can arrange participation in some events before they fall out of the junior ranks.
Regardless of governing body support, Oliver and Oscar have a very specific, short-term goal: “Before we leave the Under 18s, we want to get on to the first page of the LTA rankings!” laughs Oscar. They’re currently 42nd and 46th in the open category – and need to reach the top 25 to achieve that aim. You wouldn’t bet against them.
