LINDSAY McCALL has hailed the HOP Women’s Tour as essential to the growth of the female game in padel.
The West of Scotland Padel Club ace recently made the final of the HOP Women Tour event at Rawdon in Leeds where she and partner Meghan Montgomerie found the nous and guile of GB masters internationals Libby Fletcher and Sally Fisher a real eyeopener.
The fact that McCall and Montgomerie had to leave Ayrshire in order to find quality meaningful competitive action with fellow females perhaps highlights how far the development of the sport in the women’s game has to go north of the border.
Something which the lack of a Scottish national ladies side highlights yet McCall is upbeat about the growing interest and momentum in padel in women’s terms and admits it would be a dream to one day have a HOP Women Tour event in ‘Alba’ to help provide further focus and profile for padel in Scotland.
The Rawdon runner-up said: “The first tournament I played on the HOP Women Tour at Harrogate I was just amazed at how well organised it was and really Javi (Serrats) does a fantastic job in this respect. From the online registration process it was just so simple and user friendly and then the communication in advance of the draw with match times etc it was just excellent.
“Then on the day of the tournament the facilities and the scheduling were just superb and for me I can’t speak highly enough about the HOP Women Tour in terms of playing competitive padel from a women’s perspective.
“You can see from the Rawdon women’s event, which was the biggest female draw for a domestic UK tournament with 16 pairs, just how popular HOP Women is becoming and how important it is to growing the women’s game in padel in Britain.
“At West of Scotland we struggle to get three pairs of women entering comps, so it is a brilliant way of getting ladies to play competitive padel matches. At Rawdon you could tell a lot of people played at that club and that it was such a social and friendly club and they were very welcoming of us from Scotland and the other visiting competitors.
“I really hope that one day we can have a HOP Women in Scotland but at the moment I think it is difficult to know how that could be achieved. In terms of the promotion of that type of event and attracting new players that will be the challenge.”
Lindsay continued: “At WOS we had a Grade 1 LTA tournament in February but there were only four ladies pairs that entered whereas in the men’s they had several qualification rounds.
“But we have had several Grade 3, Grade 4, and Grade 5 events and before I started playing there was an inter-club tournament in Scotland with players coming from Thistle and Edinburgh Sports Club for an event but that was before I joined.
“Just now there is no Scottish Ladies team which is a bit of a shame, we have tried with the four ladies at WOS, with Meghan, Mercedes, Rachel Scallan, and me who want to play competitively, along with some of the ladies over in Edinburgh to try and coordinate things and we are looking at all heading down to Middleborough together to get more competitive action.
“It really would be brilliant if there were to be a Scottish Ladies team and I hope things can move in that direction soon as it would really give the ladies game up here another focal point.”
Reflecting further on the challenge of enjoying competitive play in Caledonia Lindsay continued: “Meghan and I are not really a regular pairing. At West of Scotland Padel there are not that many women who are up for playing tournaments regularly so Meghan usually plays with another girl at our club called Mercedes Perez who is Spanish.
“I’d played at a HOP Women tournament with Mercedes at Harrogate back in June and when I saw the event at Rawdon I asked her but she was on holiday and Meghan and I paired up for Rawdon.
“I’d had such a good day at Harrogate and was so well organised and we got really good competitive games that we just don’t get in Scotland and I was just really keen to play in another competitive tournament after that as we get so few opportunities in Scotland to play competitively with other ladies and usually have to play with the men.
“That is fine but it is a totally different game and so when we do play with other ladies it is not what we are used to and it can take time to adjust.”
The Ayrshire padel ace took up the game in May 2021 and while she admits her background as a tennis and badminton player has been a huge help in the transition to padel she admits that spanning the difference between a mixed game with male playmates and an all-female four can prove interesting.
Lindsay explained: “The men’s game is much more power based and played at a faster tempo whereas when we played Libby and her partner Sally in the final at Rawdon they were very placement orientated and very accurate in that respect.
“There were a few learning points from the final but the main thing is that it isn’t all about power and that you need to focus on getting the basics right, be a bit more tactical and just again how important placement is.”
When it came to the importance of her North Ayrshire playing base at West of Scotland Padel Club McCall issued a wholehearted song of praise for this burgeoning bastion of the sport up North.
She said: “At West we have just over 100 players now and I would guess of that 20% are women. We have three indoor courts at an old factory building in an industrial estate in Stevenson in North Ayrshire.
“I am from Ayrshire and before I knew about it I just wasn’t aware there was a West of Scotland Padel club, it is tucked away.
“But there is a member’s lounge with nice comfy chairs and we have an honesty box for food and drinks and there are even blankets for when you are watching tournaments and the changing facilities and showers are excellent and it is all really well done and very welcoming.
“I’ve been playing since May 2021 and WOS is just a brilliant facility and I love playing there. I have played tennis and badminton before taking up padel and so lots of racket sports and that is a help when you come to take up padel there is no doubt.”
