GB Women’s international Hansie Ruddick has revealed that while she was wowed by Sunday’s Greenweez Paris Premier Padel Major finale at Roland-Garros it left her experiencing a: ‘What if?’ moment.
Spanish superstars Alejandro Galan and Juan Lebron picked up the impressive gold-studded trophy racket and 47,300 Euros each after an epic three-set victory over Argentina’s Federico Chingotto and Juan Tello.
Afterwards, an emotional World No.1 Lebron thanked the International Padel Federation, Premier Padel and the French Tennis Federation for staging a spectacular tournament which highlighted the giant strides the sport has made in organisation, presentation, and prize money.
But for Ruddick there was one thing missing: a parallel women’s event.
The glaring absence of elite female competition in the fêted environs of FIP’s showcase events is exacerbated by the fact that rivals WPT are now offering equal prize money at their tournaments.
Last year in Spain’s premier domestic cup tournament, the Copa del Rey, a majority of female players refused to enter after it was revealed the Spanish Federation were paying their male counterparts resulting in a women’s entry shockingly only in single digits.
Squash has had equal prize money at most of its major tournaments for several years now. And the outstanding success of the women’s football Euros currently taking place in the UK has meant that demands for women’s equality are not only being heard but also likely to at last be realised.
Compare all of that with this weekend’s launch of the Tour de France Femmes, the first proper women’s Tour de France, an eight-day cycle race which will conclude on La Super Planche des Belles Filles on July 31, which has been hailed as a “turning point in society”.
Yet as Ruddick revealed at top level that is not the case in padel, the globe’s fastest growing sport. She added: “I watched Roland Garros and what a venue, but from a women’s point of view it is a case of: ‘If Only!’
“It is very difficult to compare padel with tennis even although many people do just that. Tennis has such a historical background with very many more players competing and more countries involved in it, and of course the funding in tennis is huge.
“So it is a shame that a sport that is just starting out like padel couldn’t do it the right way and have both sexes on the same money. If you want to be an exemplary sport then do it the correct way with equal prize money, and it’s not like tennis as we both play best of three sets.
“Plus everyone has to pay the same in travel, sacrifice the same for training and accommodation, coaches, nutrition, psychological support and of course physios, and all of the other stuff behind the scenes. So when you factor that in it’s a shame it is just the men’s game being showcased in the Premier Padel events and nothing representing the women’s game.
“The World Padel Tour took the big step of equalling prize money between men and women and for a sport in its infancy that is the best thing they could do. They have got on track early and I hope other sports will follow suit but FIP (International Padel Federation) still need to do the right thing with that now.
“With the whole Premier Padel aspect they are on a trial and test route, but as soon as possible they need to get females in their top tournaments not just from a financial point of view but in terms of promoting the sport.
“My personal opinion is that we don’t want padel becoming a sport like football, which is really male dominated. It is a sport that is just starting off so let us have both sexes on an equal footing and grow and develop at the same rate.”
As Ruddick revealed the equal rights issue is one that won’t be going away while there is a further interesting sub plot with WPT understood to be freezing ranking points for females intending to play any FIP events if they are already playing WPT.
The Spanish-based Ruddick added: “Last year there was a bit of a strike in the Spanish Cup, the Copa del Ray. The male players were being paid to play by the Spanish Federation and the women were not.
“So, the women went on strike and only eight players signed up for the national championship. So it is a pretty hot topic right now and I think that FIP needs to get it right now as it just starts off, and do it the right way and be a torch-bearer for equal rights in sports in general.
“Padel is a sport where the conditions are the same for both sexes so let’s get it right now for the future. WPT may have done that but I feel like they have done that as a consequence of the competition from FIP and in particular Premier Padel, as WPT have been around for a few years and equal prize money could have been introduced a while back, but better late than never!”
In terms of the differences between the men’s and women’s game Ruddick offered an interesting appraisal: “The men’s and the women’s game are by nature different, even though you are playing on the same 10 by 20 metre court. The tactics and the strategy are different and the rallies tend to be that bit longer and are really tactical and more subtle, whereas the brute force of the men’s game is at a minimum.
“In the men’s you can receive with the lob and then boom it’s a smash and it’s over. In the women’s game it is about getting the basics right, understanding the strategic play, and really trying to manoeuvre the opposition out of position before finishing the point off.”
Next up for Ruddick is the FIP Rise London Open tournament at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, where she will also be combining a squad get-together with her GB Women’s team mates.
Interestingly enough, and in a positive move, this is an event boasting an equal prize pot between men and women entrants of 4500 Euros for each draw.
It is something that has special significance for the 33-year-old as she explained: “It will be my first time ever playing in England and I’m quite excited about that. A few years ago I was spotted by Carolina Prado, who at the time was the GB Ladies captain, when I was playing over in Spain, and she asked me over to train with the squad only for the pandemic to hit.
“So I’ve been waiting ever since to get over to play in England and the fact that it is at the National Tennis Centre is really exciting, as it is the home of padel in the UK. My parents are also coming along, so that will make it all really special.
“My partner is Yvette Val Lopez, who is from Barcelona and I’ve never played with her before, so that is also an exciting prospect. So we will give it a go and I’m looking forward to it.
“Before that I am back in England on the weekend of 28th and 29th July and then I go to the NTC on the Tuesday after for a few days training with the GB squad before the London Rise starts on Thursday, and that will be great to catch up with the new members of the squad.
“Obviously we have the qualification process for the World Cup in Qatar still to come around September and that is all very exciting.”
