International stars clinch titles at the FIP Bronze Island Padel Jersey
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International padel stars stole the show at the FIP Bronze Island Padel Jersey over the weekend - the third Cupra FIP Tour level event in Britain this year.
British No.1 Aimee Gibson, narrowly missed out in a place in the final with her Spanish partner Catarina Santos Domingos, losing out to the eventual winners Carla Touly from France and Spaniard Camila Fassio Goyeneche.
The second seeds secured victory in the final over the former world No.1 Carolina Navarro Bjork and Bruna Albuqerque Melo with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win.
Speaking after their win, Touly said, “I think teamwork got us over the line. Yesterday I wasn’t feeling great, and she was a really good partner. Today I felt a little bit better, but still not my best and then in the final much better and I think playing together, it doesn't matter if we play well and bad, we won the tournament because we kept fighting.
Goyeneche added, “We are so happy. We are training together so hard and we competed well together this week. I think the lob was the key. It was a little windier today, but I think at the end we didn’t miss any which was great. I think improving the lob match by match was key.
"We go to Portugal next week for a FIP Bronze and the plan is to win again! It was a great week. We play a lot of FIPs and the organisation like we’ve seen this week doesn’t exist. The food, the people, the transportation and the physio were all excellent so thank you so much. You can see they are very passionate and are always happy to help so it’s like a dream for us.”
The men’s final saw a showdown between the first and second seeds. The top seeded Italian pairing of Simone Cremona and Giulio Graziotti won the first set but eventually lost in a third set tie-break to Clement Geens from Belgium and Albin Olsson from Sweden 4-6, 6-2, 7-6.
Reflecting on their win, Geens said, “Obviously really happy, it was a tough match, tough conditions against a great team. They played really well so I was just happy about the match and the way it went.”
Olsson added, “It was a really tough match... They played so well, fast padel and strong from the back. There was an insane amount of breaks in the match which shows how tough the conditions were with the lobs and overheads. We had to fight for every point and both teams had lots of chances, so this was definitely a 50/50 match.
For us, we always believed, pushed each other no matter what happened. This final is on my best list of matches. It was a great pair to beat and I’ve never beaten them before so for sure one of my favourite matches. Thanks to the whole event, you’ve done an incredible job. Also to Padel TV, the stream has been amazing which is so important and we do it all together.”
Island Padel Jersey Co-Owner, Scott Clayton, reflected on the tournament saying, “It’s a really big thing for us, there’s only four [FIP events] this year in the British Isles so to have one here in Jersey is truly fantastic and it’s amazing for our community to come and watch some of the best padel in the world on their doorstep.
"It’s been great to see some of the Brits doing well this week. I think having events like this on their doorstep is massively beneficial in terms of the finances they go through in trying to play this game professionally.
We’ve had a lot of help from the LTA and also from our main sponsor Rathbones, who have been with us before we even put a spade in the ground... they have really believed in the vision of community and the game so we’re really grateful to them and all their support.”
Libby Fletcher, LTA National Performance Pathway Manager spoke about the competition saying, “It was great to be at the third British FIP tournament this year with some of our top Brits competing on home soil. The event was a huge success thanks to the fantastic team of organisers & volunteers who provided the competitors with a first-class player experience, with transfers, accommodation & meals. It was clear to see from the volunteers & spectators that the whole Jersey padel community was behind the event.”
The next FIP Tour event in Britain will take place in October at Stratford Padel Club in London.
