Ex-Chelsea stars John Terry and Jody Morris and West Ham legends Mark Noble and Bobby Zamora are among the sporting celebrities playing in Wednesday’s Pro Am Padel Tour event at Padium in Canary Wharf.
The event at the plush new eight-court club in the heart of London’s financial district is the third in the Pro Am Padel Tour series. The latest instalment features arguably its most high-profile line-up so far, combining 12 well-known figures from sport, business and broadcasting with 12 top-class padel partners.
Close friends Terry and Morris were both products of the Chelsea youth system and went on to become multiple trophy winners with the Blues first team.
Terry became Chelsea and England captain, winning five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, one Europa League and one Champions League trophy. Since retirement, both have gone into coaching. Terry is currently assistant manager at Championship leaders Leicester City while Morris was most recently manager of League Two side Swindon Town.
Terry and Morris are both regular padel players – Terry played in a legends match at last year’s World Cup in Qatar and has been spotted having a regular hit with another ex-Chelsea legend, Andrei Shevchenko.
On Wednesday, 42-year-old Terry partners women’s GB coach Max Lutostanski at Padium, while Morris is teaming up with GB player Nikhil Mohindra.
Noble, who made 550 appearances for West Ham and is now the Hammers’ Sporting Director, has been partnered with GB’s Frankie Langan. Noble’s former team-mate Zamora – who played for Brighton, Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham and QPR, scoring 190 goals – will line up with LTA No.2 Jorge Martinez.
Among the other pairings in the men’s draw are ex-Formula 1 driver Nicholas Latifi and LTA no.1 Rafa Vega, and Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers with GB player Alfonso Patacho.
Explosive Kent and England batsman Sam Billings also features in the all-star cast, partnering GB No.3 Louie Harris. Billings will hope to emulate the feat of England opener, Nick Compton, who won the men’s trophy alongside Harris at the last Pro Am Padel Tour event at the National Tennis Centre.
GB No.1 Christian Murphy, ranked 133rd in the world, teams up with Martin Lorentzon, co-founder of Spotify and investor in the competition’s glamorous venue Padium.
The women’s draw also features some intriguing names and match-ups, including Manchester City and Lionesses forward Izzy Christiansen who partners GB No.2 Aimee Gibson.
Having reached the quarter-finals of last weekend’s FIP RISE Stratford, GB No.1 Tia Norton makes the short trip to Canary Wharf to play alongside Sussex and England all-rounder Danni Wyatt. Wyatt made her England Test debut last summer in the Ashes and has played over 100 ODIs.
Bryony Cleall, the Harlequins and England prop, will play alongside Ellie Tait, the former hockey player who has broken into the GB padel set-up. The final pairing is Sky Sports Golf presenter Sarah Stirk and up-and-coming GB star Catherine Rose.
The Pro Am Padel Tour event will feature a round-robin format followed by sponsor clinics and a ladies’ hour. The event is sponsored by Redk, Estrella Damm, Elemental Herbology, Padel Shack and No.1 Living. The charity partner for the event is Rackets Cubed.
Full line-ups:
Ellie Tait, GB Team & Bryony Cleall, Harlequins and England
Tia Norton, GB no 1, World rank 143 & Danni Wyatt, Sussex and England
Aimee Gibson, GB no 2 & Izzy Christiansen, Man City and England
Catherine Rose, GB Team & Sarah Stirk, Sky Sports Golf presenter
Louie Harris, GB no 3 & Sam Billings, Kent and England
Christian Murphy, GB no 1, World rank 133 & Martin Lorentzon, co-founder of Spotify
Max Lutostanski, GB coach & John Terry, Chelsea and England
Jorge Martinez, LTA no 2 & Bobby Zamora, West Ham, England and TV personality
Rafa Vega, former LTA no 1 & Nicholas Latifi, Formula One driver
Alfonso Patacho, GB team & Tom Sellers, two Michelin-starred chef
Nikhil Mohindra, GB Team & Jody Morris, Chelsea and England
Frankie Langan, GB Team & Mark Noble, West Ham
