The Bandeja Magazine Issue 2

Feature: tournaments
the domestic framework regarding
the competition pathway for our
performance players and that will
allow us to encourage them back to
the UK more regularly.
“We planned accordingly, but no one
was to expect such an overwhelming
number of entries and we had an
oversubscribed draw with six entries
not making it in. Considering it was
our first FIP RISE event it really was a
truly international showing and we are
delighted with that.
“For us to take the next steps forward
in 2023 we need these events in the
UK so we can showcase the higher
level and hopefully that will encourage
grass roots and then the whole player
pathway comes together,” added Tom.
Another UK first for Derby
Newly opened We Are Padel in
Derby proved the perfect home
for the European leg of the World
Championship qualifiers, the first time
the event has been held in the UK.
The venue’s impressive 11 courts were
put to good use with more than 30
men’s and women’s national teams
battling it out for places at the World
Championships in Dubai.
The GB men claimed a satisfying
victory over Germany to avenge their
loss in the 2021 World Championships
in the final rubber when GB No
1 Christian Medina Murphy and
partner Sam Jones clinched victory
in a rollercoaster three set affair that
ebbed and flowing during their 6-2,
4-6, 6-3 victory.
As Tom Murray reflected, the GB
Men’s triumph was a supreme
moment to savour: “It was an
incredible way to make the World
Championships by claiming the last
qualification place after the final
match on the deciding set. Really it
couldn’t have been more dramatic.”
There was to be no fairy tale for the
British women as the Swedes, who
were later to place sixth in Dubai, shut
the qualification door firmly shut.
Despite this Tom still found positives:
“The ladies team took a lot of
learnings from their experience in
Derby and I have no doubt that will
help them to continue to improve.
“We are steadily developing and
progressing new players into the
group and it was great to see new
girls coming through and the depth
of the squad improving. That is in no
small part down to the work of our
coaching team of Alvaro (Guerrero)
and his assistant Max (Lutostanski)”.
Frustration
But while the GB men were to enjoy
their moment in the sun when it came
to Dubai, only frustration was felt
when a final defeat by the Dutch in
the battle for placings in the play-offs
consigned them to 14th, three places
off 2021.
Ultimately the failure to make it out
of the group sections came down to
a pivotal match with Uruguay, which
saw head coach John Leach gamble
everything on stacking his order so
that our No 1 pairing of Murphy and
Jones played last, just as they had
in the opening match with Portugal.
Sadly it was a throw of the dice that
did not pay-off as the GB pairing took
to the court when the tie was dead
just 24 hours after a similar exercise
against Portugal.
Yet it was so close to coming off
when the second pairing of Sandy
Farquharson and Nikhil Mohindra
appeared to have wrestled control of
the second rubber at 5-3 and a break
up in the first set only to let it slip
and then lead 5-2 in the second set
before disaster once again struck and
defeat from a winning position was
the painful prize.
John admitted it was a call that
had cost him a sleepless night: “It is
always tough in terms of what players
you put in and what numbers you
deploy them at and, sadly, Uruguay
didn’t go in our favour but that is
international sport. What is really
important is that as a group we take
the World Championships and these
tough moments and learn from them
and improve.
“We had the opportunity to play the
very best players in the world against
the likes of Spain and Portugal who
made the final and the semi-finals
respectively,” added John. “These are
players that our guys - and especially
the younger ones - look up to, so this
was an amazing experience and one
we took everything we could from.” •
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