Theo Garton will no longer be the butt of a running joke around the family dinner table after earning a debut GB call-up for the upcoming FIP World Cup European qualifier in Madrid.
The 22-year-old will be part of the GB men’s squad bidding to earn qualification for November’s FIP World Cup in Doha when they do battle with 28 European foes at Pádel G24 club in the Spanish capital from 22-26 September.
The chance to represent his country for the first time was a “very pleasant surprise” for Garton — but also a relief.
His parents, Nigel and Jennifer, both played padel for Great Britain in the very earliest editions of the World Padel Championships in the early 90s, and are never shy of reminding their son about it!
“My dad was selected and my mum went along to support him, but there were a couple of injuries in the women’s team so she got pulled in last-minute,” Theo tells The Padel Paper.
“In the last couple of years when I’ve been in contention for the team but not been selected, they’ve had an ongoing joke that they’ve represented GB and I haven’t, so its good to put an end to that!”
Just over a year ago, Theo was still living at home with his folks in Middlesbrough and was an apprentice at a global shipping company. He was only able to train once a week, competing in LTA tournaments and the occasion FIP Tour event when his work schedule allowed.
But an intervention from Soul Padel changed his life — and set in motion a course of events that has led directly to his upcoming debut for his country.
North west-based padel operator Soul Padel, headed by Mark Hewlett, currently has four clubs, but a recent £3.6m investment from three family offices will accelerate its growth to 10 venues in the next 12 months.
Two years ago, Soul Padel named Garton as an Ambassador and last year, the operator began financially supporting his career. This enabled him to give up his job and relocate to Marbella to train full-time at the Prodigy Academy at Villa Padierna.
His level soared straight away and he leapt from outside of the world’s top 900 in the FIP world rankings to the fringes of the top 300.
‘Slow it down and keep calm…’
That improvement didn’t go unnoticed by the LTA who gave him and regular partner Cameron Dollimore wildcards into the qualifying draw for the inaugural London Premier Padel P1 at Olympia last month.
They faced Spain’s Pablo Reina Ambel and Marcel Font in the first round and although the first set disappeared in a blur 6-0, they had set points en route to taking the second to a tiebreak, which they lost 7-3.
“Losing the first set in that manner wasn’t something we’d encountered before, but having John [Leach] on the bench was really helpful,” says Garton. “He told us to slow it down and keep it calm. It was a big boost and showed us that we can compete at this level.”
GB men’s coach Leach will be in Garton’s corner again at the FIP World Cup European qualifier in Madrid, as will GB women’s coach and fellow Teessider Libby Fletcher, who was Theo’s tennis coach at Middlesbrough Tennis Club when he was four years old!
When Garton received the phone call informing him of his selection for the GB team, he and Dollimore had just lost at a FIP event in Finland and were waiting for their return flight at the airport.
“It was a bit of a ‘down’ day and to be honest I was sitting there questioning things. Those moments can be a bit degrading, so when I got the phone call it was a bit of a surprise.
“GB have got a very talented squad with lots of competition for places, so it was a surprise, but a pleasant surprise. It was a real boost to the spirits, and extra motivation to keep pushing on.”
- The Padel Paper will have a full preview to the FIP World Cup European qualifier on Monday (21 September). The draw takes place on Monday evening with the action beginning on Tuesday. In the meantime, read details of the GB squad here and further details on the tournament here.
