GB Women’s Padel Captain Libby Fletcher on why this year’s European Championships squad is the strongest yet
• 3 MINUTE READ
It’s an exciting time in the world of British padel as the Great Britain women’s and men’s teams prepare to fly out to Cagliari for the European Padel Championships from 22-27 July.
The Brits head out to sunny Italy full of confidence and ready to showcase their growth since the last time they competed on the international stage.
One person who has been key to the increasing professionalism in the British game and in the development of some of its best stars is LTA Padel National Coach and one of the GB Women’s Captains, Libby Fletcher.
We caught up with Fletcher ahead of the tournament to discuss this year’s Championships, the improvements in the women’s game and what the future holds for performance padel in Britain.
There are 16 countries competing and we want to at least be in the top eight, so we qualify for the World Championships in Qatar in October – that’s our goal.
“We’re totally excited to be there,” Fletcher said just days before the team fly out to begin acclimatising to the hot temperatures in Italy.
“This is the strongest team we’ve fielded in the last five years since I’ve been involved in padel. You’ve got Tia Norton, who has been our No.1 player for a long time and is ranked in the top 150 in the world. You’ve got Aimee Gibson who’s pushing at the moment and then a few of the girls are away this week too competing in Mexico and Belgium.
“I think our players are all being motivated by each other’s success, and they all want to work harder and train harder. The girls have really put the work in.
“I’m really confident in some of the great partnerships that have been formed and I think it’s our strongest team. I’m excited to see how they perform on the international stage against some top players.
“There are 16 countries competing and we want to at least be in the top eight, so we qualify for the World Championships in Qatar in October – that’s our goal.”
GB padel player development
Over the last 12 months, more of the British players have had chance to compete in international FIP Tour events – battling against some of the top players from around the globe with thanks to support from the LTA.
Fletcher says the opportunities to compete more on the professional stage has been one of the biggest factors in the growing strength of the GB teams.
“For me, for the women’s team, that (competing internationally) has been the most important progression,” she said.
“Encouraging the girls and giving them those support packages to enable them to go out and compete – for me that will be the difference for our potential success at the Euros.
“The likes of Aimee and Catherine Rose for example have played around 12 FIP events in the last nine months, which is brilliant.
“International experience is invaluable – you have to be able to compete on that scene to be competitive at the Euros. It’s that knowledge of how the game is developing, the level of those top players and exposure to that sort of environment.”
From performance tennis to the national padel team
Fletcher’s journey into padel and working with Britain’s elite players has been a unique one.
Once the coach to former British No.1 tennis doubles player Jos Rae and having travelled with her for three years on the tour, Fletcher came to padel much later in her career after moving back to her hometown of Middlesborough.
“I come from a high-performance tennis background,” she said. “I played as a junior and had a successful career playing and coaching in America where I got my degree in Psychology.
“After working with Jos (Rae), I came back and took up a role at the Middlesborough Tennis Club where I spent a bit of time as Chairman. Five years ago, we had the brainwave of putting some padel courts in to help build a sustainable future for the club.
“I played at the World Championships for GB in the qualifiers a few years ago and I could see that there was a future there and that I could help given my background in performance tennis. It was a natural progression for me, and I thought I could add value to the team by bringing that element of professionalism.
“With an interest in padel and having played, it made it much easier. I also have a great interest in developing myself as well – I’ve been out to Spain and done my coaching Level 1, I’ve spent time at a junior academy in Valencia and we’ve been out and worked with a former world No.1 – so I’ve jumped on every opportunity I’ve had to grow my knowledge.
“When I came in, there wasn’t much structure in the programme, so what we’ve tried to do is bring the girls together once every four to six weeks and to have a schedule of camps for them throughout the year.
“We’ve brought in things like individual development plans, goal setting, tournament schedules – so we’re trying to bring a professional element to the team.”
Encouraging the girls and giving them those support packages to enable them to go out and compete – for me that will be the difference for our potential success at the Euros.
Creating a pathway for the next generation of padel stars
As part of her role with the LTA and with British performance padel, Fletcher’s focus has been the women’s team so far, but as the sport continues to grow, her attention is also bringing through the next generation.
“We are competing at an international level with both our men’s and women’s teams,” Fletcher explained. “All the support we give them, we’re now trying to bring that into a junior level as well.
“We’ve had three youth camps since December and now we’re looking at what that youth pathway will look like for players in the future.
“We want them to have a similar set up to the Open teams with regular camp dates, tournaments, national championships, etc. These need to run parallel in the future so we have a strong youth programme feeding up to the men’s and women’s teams.”
Get all the latest from the Brits competing at the European Padel Championships from 22-27 July here on the LTA website and across our social media channels.
