LTA staging first pro padel event in the UK with star names taking part

The LTA’s National Tennis Centre is set to host the first professional padel event in Great Britain, with the London Padel Open getting underway between August 4-7.
Padel has been described as a cross between tennis and squash, played on a court that allows players to hit the ball after it bounces back off the wall. Interest in the sport in Britain has boomed since it was integrated into the day-to-day operations at the LTA in 2019 and there are now 89,000 active padel players and 200 courts across the country.
The London Padel Open is part of the Cupra FIP (International Padel Federation) Tour and features a combined men’s and women’s event. The London Padel Open is played as a straight knockout tournament, featuring 32 pairs in the men’s event and approximately 17 in the women’s as the sport looks to reach new levels in Britain.
In the women’s draw, British No.1 Tia Norton is in the line-up alongside Spain’s Carla Fito Fernández. The pair lead the field at the moment with 46 ranking points, thanks to a few pre-qualifying results in Denmark and Marbella. Norton, 18, made history last year by becoming the first British woman to compete in and win a World Padel Tour match at the Malaga Open.
The other British star coming into this event with World Padel Tour ranking points is Hansie Ruddick, who will play with Ivet Val Lopez. Both Ruddick and Norton were part of the British team to feature at last year’s World Padel Championships.
Tennis fans will be interested to watch British No.1 Laura Robson in action as she makes her cameo appearance in a padel event, teaming up with Sian Bayliss – who also played professional tennis. Abigail Tordoff who also played singles at Wimbledon will be taking part.

Heading up the British challenge in the men’s draw is Christian Medina Murphy and his Spanish partner Javier Navarro Perez. The pair look set to come in as the 7th seeds, with a combined 197 ranking points this season. Earlier this year, Murphy became part of the first British team to win a Tour match at the FIP €525,000 Italy Major, with Sam Jones.
All-British duo Jones and Louie Harris will look to make their mark on the London Padel Open as two of the nation’s rising stars in the game. Jones and Harris have created a formidable partnership of their own this season – having finished runners-up at the LTA National Padel Tour event in Stratford.
Looking to make his return at the London Padel Open is Richard Brooks – who is set to play in his first Tour event since September 2021. One of Britain’s most experienced padel stars, Brooks will look to mark his comeback with some strong results as he teams up with Alejandro Tasa Van Beek.
The London Padel Open will also welcome several of the biggest stars from across the world – including world No.77 Ignacio Vilariño Gestoso and his partner Jabor Al-Mutawa. Vilariño has competed in the main draw at two World Padel Tour Master events this year and has racked up a total of 22 wins in 2022 alone.
Elsewhere, Spanish Ricardo Martinez Sanchez teams up with the Frenchman Jeremy Scatena as the second seeds, while world No.76 Carlos Jimenez Casas from Spain joins up with Bastien Blanque after having reached the semi-finals at the Tau Cerámica Getafe Challenger back in April.
Dutch star Maaike Betz leads an exciting line-up in the women’s main draw, alongside Spain’s Natalia Sanz Garcia. Meanwhile, third seeds Carolina Gallo Frias and Evelyn Lacamoire could be set to mount a serious challenge for this year’s title.
Tom Murray, Head of Padel at the LTA, said: “We are delighted to welcome some of the world’s best padel players for the London Padel Open. The National Tennis Centre is ready for the first professional padel tournament ever staged in the UK and this is a huge opportunity to support our players on our pathway and promote the sport moving forward. We have big plans for the rest of this year, with the European group qualifying matches for FIP 2022 World Championships being hosted in partnership with We Are Padel Derby at the end of September. Then the LTA will be looking to push the sport to the next level in the UK in 2023.”
Live coverage of the London Padel Open will be available across the LTA website, our YouTube and TikTok channels. Matches will also be broadcast live on the FIP’s digital channels.
Latest
-
WTA Tour
Madison Keys back into top 20 as she takes down another Grand Slam winner in Elena Rybakina
Madison Keys on the rise: into the semi-final in Cincinnati and back into the top 20.
-
Tennis News
Full transcript of Taylor Fritz’s tongue-in-cheek comment about Novak Djokovic after he got ‘ripped’ by fan
Taylor Fritz’s joke about Novak Djokovic didn’t go down well with one fan.
-
US Open
Rafael Nadal will be ‘fired up’ at US Open says pundit – ‘You can never, ever write him off’
Rafael Nadal backed to come good at the US Open.
-
ATP Tour
ATP Rankings: Carlos Alcaraz knocking on the No 2 door, Cameron Norrie eyes No 8
Plenty of movement in the ATP Rankings.
-
News
Play with the legendary Bryan brothers at amazing All Court Tennis Club event
This is a real bucket list opportunity.
-
ATP Tour
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ father courts controversy again: ‘Tell me one person who likes his father’
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ father hits the headlines again for the wrong reason.
-
WTA Tour
Emma Raducanu still figuring out her perfect game, but plenty of positives and no more getting pushed around
Three wins in a row elude Emma Raducanu yet again, but things are looking up ahead of the US Open.
-
ATP Tour
Cameron Norrie sets up Carlos Alcaraz clash as he sails back into top 10 in rankings
Double delight for Cameron Norrie as he reaches quarters in Cincy and climbs back into top 10.
-
WTA Tour
Emma Raducanu’s Cincy run ended by Jessica Pegula, but American impressed by teen’s wins big wins
There was no third-round joy for Emma Raducanu with Jessica Pegula walking away victorious.
-
WTA Tour
Madison Keys stuns Iga Swiatek for first win over reigning World No 1
Madison Keys swept to a straight sets victory against Swiatek, who looked far from her best.