Last weekend, seven of the best padel teams in the country took part in the LTA Padel National League 2022 at the National Tennis Centre, Roehampton.
At 6ft 6 inches, Game4Padel’s Growth & Participation Director, Vincent Hivert does not need to grow any more, but was participating as part of Edinburgh’s Team Thistle Padel Club along with Ross Murdoch, Philip Blythe, Finlay Glidden, and Dani Roque.
Drawn in Group B, Thistle was the only Padel club from Scotland in the competition. They unfortunately lost their group matches against Chelsea Club (London), The Roehampton Club (London) and Tennis World (Middlesborough). The event was won by the NTC against Roehampton in an incredible match tie-break decider 13-11!
Vincent was hoping to be drawn against Adam Knutsson-Sunblad of MATCHi – Game4Padel’s chosen booking system partner – having spent many working hours online and on the phone to each other to open all Game4Padel venues on the MATCHi system. But it was not meant to be, and this match will have to wait!
Vincent commented on his experience: "It was an amazing and rare opportunity for a club like Thistle Padel! The level of the competition was very impressive – a level we are not used to in Scotland at present. We need to train and compete a lot more locally to improve our tactics, our Bandejas and Viboras, our court positioning, our communication and more importantly our relationship with the glass! It is extremely exciting to feel that there is so much to learn but also that improvement is achievable with the right structure in place.”
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