FIP World Cup 2026: GB women finish in 10th place
• 3 minutes read
Great Britain's women finished 10th in their first FIP World Cup Finals appearance since 2021 after losing narrowly to Belgium on the final day in Doha.
Having missed out on the quarter-finals by a whisker after finishing third in their group (level on points and just two rubbers behind Brazil), GB entered the 9th-16th play-offs.
They battled past Egypt and USA to set up the concluding clash with the Belgians to contest for ninth place.
After a tight defeat for Lisa Phillips and Abigail Tordoff in Saturday morning's opening rubber, British No.1 and No.2 Aimee Gibson and Catherine Rose recovered from a slow start to level the score. GB's 16-year-old revelation Chloe de la Mare and Victoria Nicholas faced a tough deciding clash with the world No. 133s and unfortunately lost 6-4, 6-3.
Great Britain Captain Libby Fletcher said: "Competing at the FIP World Cup in Doha this week has been an incredible experience, with seven GB women making their debut at this event, after an incredible achievement qualifying in Madrid.
"I could not be prouder of the on-court battles we faced as a team, and each player can hold their head high, finishing in the top 10 in the world this week in the extreme heat conditions.
"Eight inspirational women, each with their own stories, have shown the padel world that GB continues to improve as a nation and inspire the next generation of female players."
In the opening group match with Brazil, GB No.1 Gibson partnered Tia Norton, who was playing her first match since the London Premier Padel P1 at the start of August.
They lost 6-3, 6-4 in the opening group match against Brazil, followed by a 6-3, 6-0 defeat for Phillips and Tordoff. The superb partnership between De la Mare and Nicholas almost pulled off a consolation victory but went down 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.
Defeat to nine-time champions Spain followed, but the last group game against Germany was when the campaign began in earnest.
Nicholas and De la Mare gloriously defeated Celina Ermann and Alissa Schmitz 6-4, 6-0, then the reunited Rose and Gibson conquered world No.64 Victoria Kurz and Milla Blaschke 6-2, 6-2.
Tordoff and Phillips completed the clean sweep with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 triumph against Lena Plumer and Katharina Hering, meaning GB finished third in the group.
That put them into the play-offs for 9th-16th positions, starting with a clash against Egypt, who'd finished fourth in Group C but proved a tough assignment.
Gibson and Rose breezed through the opener in 45 minutes for the loss of a single game, but Norton and Jackson lost the second tie 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 to set up a decider.
Once again it was Nicholas and De la Mare who were the winning combination. Their 6-4, 6-3 victory set up a clash with USA.
Unfortunately for the Americans, their star player Brittany Dubins sustained an injury in just the third rally of the opening match against Gibson and Nicholas. The world No.47 shook hands after losing the first set 6-1.
Then it was De la Mare again who, partnering Rose, won the decisive second tie 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 against Daniela Ruiz Alvarez and Ana Marija Zuborri to clinch the victory.
That gave GB the chance of a ninth-placed finish on Saturday's concluding day, but Belgium's long-established partnership, world No.133s Justine Pysson and Elyne Boeykens, were too strong even for Nicholas and De la Mare in the anchor leg, after the opening two ties had been shared.
It was a strong week overall for the Brits, who can take plenty of positives and experience from the competition heading into the remainder of the year and the 2027 season to come.
