The date and venue for the FIP Senior Euro Padel Cup have been changed with just nine weeks’ notice — provoking anger in some participating nations but relief for Great Britain’s Libby Fletcher.
The second edition of padel’s European Senior Championships will now take place from 6-11 October, a week later than originally publicised. The venue has also been switched from Cartegena to Valencia, 165 miles up Spain’s south-east coast.
The original dates of 29 September–5 October were a direct clash with the FIP Junior World Cup in Reus in the Costa Daurada region of Spain.
That clash left GB National Performance Pathway Manager Libby Fletcher in a quandary; she plays in, selects and coaches the GB Seniors team and has a key developmental role with GB’s top juniors — but obviously couldn’t attend both events.
She had already made the choice to support GB’s juniors at the FIP Junior World Cup and miss the Seniors championships, but should now be able to dash from one to the other thanks to the date change.
“It doesn’t come as a surprise that we’ve had a change of date after FIP organised two major events in the same week,” Fletcher told The Padel Paper. “It seemed like an oversight from the start.
“I’d made a decision that I would be unavailable for the Seniors, but I should now be able to play, if I’m selected. The date change makes things easier, albeit a lot busier!”
The LTA has committed to support the GB Seniors teams in Valencia with two on-court coaches, who will be announced very shortly. A three-person panel will then select the GB teams from over 120 applications.
“Total lack of respect…”
The late date switch certainly wasn’t good news for everyone though. The Padel Paper has heard from three nations who had already booked non-refundable flights to the original host city of Cartagena.
Finnish player Kati Ranta told us that 11 of their 12-player squad had already bought flights costing between 400 and 600 euros each, an expense they would not recoup. She was unsure how many squad members would be able to commit to the new dates due to cost and work considerations.
“It seems odd that FIP can not decide and inform [players] about championship competitions in time, not in any class, juniors, seniors or veterans,” she said.
A Norwegian player, Henrik Dahl, posted on social media: “To change dates is nothing more than a total lack of respect for all federations in Europe and not the least all participants.”
The FIP Senior Euro Padel Cup will now take place at the Family Sport Center in Valencia and will bring together Europe’s best male and female players in the +35, +40, +45, +50, and +55 age categories.
There will be two competitions: one for national teams, featuring 22 men’s and 19 women’s teams; and an Open event for national pairs, where two pairs from each country participating in the team competition will have a guaranteed spot in the main draw of each age category.
In a statement, FIP said the new location of Valencia represented an “opportunity for renewal” and was “a sign of resilience from a community that responded to adversity with strength and unity” following last year’s DANA disaster in the region which killed over 200 residents.
Alfonso Monferrer, President of the Federación de Pádel de la Comunitat Valenciana (FPCV), said: “For the Comunitat Valenciana, it is an honour to once again have the trust of the FIP to host a competition of this scale, especially as we welcome 22 participating nations to a region that, over the past year, has worked tirelessly to return to normality following the impact of last October’s DANA storm.
“With the organization of the FIP Senior Euro Padel Cup, we want to contribute meaningfully to the recovery of a community that is coming together and rediscovering the joy of our sport. We hope all participants will enjoy their time here, and we will bring all our experience to make it possible.”
LTA. Appalling. Couldnt have happened to the tennis circuit of course.
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