ISLAND Padel marked the full reconstruction of their facility by successfully hosting the UK’s leading padel tournament.
Eager crowds flocked to the St Clement-based facility as the event progressed through Friday and Saturday. However, only the most committed of fans dared brave the downpours on Sunday.
Sunday reportedly saw a month’s worth of rainfall in 24 hours, however the tournament held strong thanks to Island Padel’s undercover courts as the venue hosted 102 matches across the competition.
World-ranked Spanish pair, Anna Ortiz and Valeria Atencia Basilio, entered the women’s draw as favourites and emerged victorious over the UK’s top offering.
The Spanish professional partnership defeated Tia Norton and Aimee Gibson in the final 7-6(5) 6-4, both pairs having been largely untested on their route to the clash.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Julien Seurin combined beautifully with Rafael Vega to get the better of Guernseyman Olly Cull and his partner, Pau Minano, 6-4 6-2.
Cull reflected: “This tournament is probably one of my favourites of the year, along with the home tournament back in Guernsey.
“The facilities are incredible and it’s always run exceptionally well.”
Women’s Open winner Ortiz mirrored her fellow competitor’s sentiments: “The tournament was really good, the thing I loved most was how everyone treated us.
“Honestly, it was similar quality to the tournaments we play in Spain.
“It felt so good winning here, largely due to the atmosphere.
“I would love to come back next year.”
Island Padel co-founder Scott Clayton expressed his gratitude: “I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped us put this tournament together.
“Particularly Rathbones, our exclusive sponsor. They have been with us since the ground up… twice.
“We were told by the LTA we had been given the opportunity to host this event again just after Storm Ciarán. That gave us a lot of motivation to get the facility back up and running.
“Everyone really banded together to support us, and seeing the whole community come together for this event was really special.”
En route to the men’s final, Cull and Minano defeated the UK’s top male pairing, Louie Harris and Chris Salisbury, in a thrilling quarter-final clash which had to be the most watched game of the tournament.
Unfortunately, all of the top local pairs were knocked out in the round of 16.
Jon Southern and Bero Bobus lost to Harris and Salisbury 6-1 6-3, while Clayton and partner Aaran Higgins were bested by the seventh seeds, George Weller and Ryan Wyatt, 6-3 6-3.
Finally, Tom Middleton and Pete Ahier lost out in a nail-biting championship tie-break to the number eight seeds, Craig Da Silva and Romain Luquet, 6-4 2-6 10-5.
Ahier commented: “It’s really disappointing to lose out, especially in a final set tie-breaker.
“Watching the others, and playing ourselves, I don’t think any of us felt particularly out of place, it’s really just a matter of competing.
“The guys we all came up against are playing tournaments week-in-week-out.
“They are used to it and that makes the difference in these matches.
“We need to find a way to get off Jersey and compete more if we want to reach the next level but, simply put, it’s too expensive to leave the Island.”
Similarly on the women’s side, the local hopefuls were also thwarted in the round of 16.
Natasha Forrest and Sonia Smith were bested by fifth seed Victoria Davies and Sarah Lochrie 6-0 6-1, Emma Davenport and Jolien Borrenberghs lost out to number fours Jo Ward and Helen Crook 6-0 6-4, and the combination of Clare Clarke and Jane Jenkins were toppled by Sophie Cousins and Angela Wood, seeded at number six, 6-1 6-0.
Elsewhere, local pairing Southern and Bobus remained untested until the final in the men’s 40+ event, where the Caesareans came up against top-ranked tandem, Ali Anderson and Andrew Warren.
Despite looking in control for the majority of the game, the Islanders made it hard for themselves, seemingly unable to convert their opportunities.
Eventually, the local pair prevailed over their opposition 4-6 7-6(5) 11-9.
The women’s 40+ draw saw top seeds Davies and Lochrie crowned, after getting the better of Islander Devenport and the UK’s Cousins in the semi-final stage.
Additionally, Devenport made the final of the women’s 50+ event, alongside another UK partner, Kate Hands.
Sadly, it was not Devenport’s day, as she would lose out again, this time to Sally Fisher and Nicky Horn, 4-6 6-1 10-8.
Kerry Goodfellow and Emma Sterry managed to claim third place over the ever-lively Clare Jubb and Lindi Lawrenson, who took fourth.
Finally, home-brewed talent Ian Furness and Island Padel co-founder Morgan Jubb secured the men’s 50+ title, taking out Phil Bain and Stuart Hamilton, Dave Lawrenson and Craig Stewart, as well as Lester Boscher and Steve Watson along the way.
