Tia Norton hopes her latest milestone achievement can be “an inspiration” to the next generation of female British players after she made history in Acapulco at this week’s Mexico Major Premier Padel event.
Not only did the 21-year-old became the first British woman to play in a Premier Padel event (the elite tier of the world tour), she and Dutch partner Stephanie Weterings went one step further by qualifying for the main draw.
The latest addition to Tia’s list of achievements echoes the events of August 2021 when, aged only 17, she became the first British woman to compete in (and win) a match on the World Padel Tour (the former name of the professional circuit) at any level.
Before Tia and Stephanie’s first match in Mexico even began, they had to overcome a different challenge – a “total nightmare” of a journey from Amsterdam to Acapulco. After their 12-hour flight to Mexico City, they waited seven hours at the airport, only for their connecting flight to Acapulco to be cancelled. The next one wasn’t until the following morning, so they took a five-hour bus journey. On arrival at the hotel, Tia slept for 10 hours.
With only a day’s preparation, they beat a Mexican pair, Ximena Munoz de Cote Millan and Ivana Perches Arrendondo (whose journey to the venue had presumably been somewhat shorter!), 6-1 6-4 to qualify for the first round. There, they got a foothold in the match – and even clawed their way back from 4-1 down to 5-4 up in the second set – but couldn’t quite take their chances, going down 6-3 7-5 to Ana Nogueira of Portugal and Spain’s Maria Abajo (the world no.36 and 40 respectively, who recently beat the world no.4 pairing in another event).
Speaking to The Padel Paper from the beach the day after the match, Tia said: “I didn’t think about it being a breakthrough achievement too much coming into this because I’m always wary of putting too much pressure on myself, but looking at it now, it is a very big moment for British padel.
“It shows it is possible for players to compete at the highest level. As much as the sport is growing in the UK, there are still things which need to be improved. If you go out there and search for opportunities, eventually they come to you. Obviously I’m still very young so hopefully it’s an inspiration to younger girls that it is possible.”
Tia, the current world no.129, has quickly forged a great connection with Dutchwoman Weterings and they now train together in the Netherlands at the Hello Padel Holland Academy. In just a few months together, they have already won one FIP Promotion title and finished runners-up and semi-finalists at other FIP Rise competitions.
The step up to a Premier Padel Major in Acapulco brought with it many benefits. “The accommodation is next level,” revealed Tia. “All the players are staying here so you’re eating and socialising with them at lunch and dinner. Transport is all arranged, there’s a car ready waiting for you. You can book practice courts easily. It’s all so well organised.”
Continuing the partnership with world no.88 Stephanie, as well as maintaining her own world ranking rise, will enable Tia to enjoy the Premier Padel lifestyle and challenges more often in 2025.
With fellow Brit Aimee Gibson creating her own piece of history recently by going to the highest FIP ranking ever by a British woman when she won the FIP Rise Manila, the future looks bright for top-level British women’s padel.
Read more: Tia Norton – “I wasn’t in a good place – but I’ve rekindled my love for padel”
