West of Scotland Padel celebrate Scottish Cup double

The weekend began at David Lloyd Shawfair with the men’s event, which featured four semi-finalists competing for a place in Saturday afternoon’s final. 

Barnton Park entered as defending champions, taking on Edinburgh Sports Club, while Aberdeen Tennis Centre took on West of Scotland Padel (WOSP).

Barnton Park took an early lead thanks to Scott Duncan and Luke McFarlane before David Holmes and Dexter Conrad doubled Barnton’s lead with a 6-4 6-4 win over Eduardo Alonso Fernandez and Antonio Fernandez-Llebrez Martin. 

In the other half, John Byrne and Allan McClure struck first for WOSP whilst Adam Irvine and Alan Ross of Aberdeen TC saved a total of six match points, recovering from a 4-9 deficit in the third set match tie-break to win 7-6(5) 4-6 12-10 and level the match. 

Round two saw Scott Duncan and Luke McFarlane tally another win for Barnton Park which consolidated their spot in the final having won the overall tie 3-0.  

The duel between WOSP and Aberdeen TC continued as Gavin Picken and Mark Picken secured a 6-2 6-2 win over Bruce Strachan and David Paterson to put WOSP within touching distance of the final.  

However, Alan Ross and Adam Irvine kept up their form to keep Aberdeen TC’s final hopes alive with a 6-3 6-4 win over John Byrne and Allan McClure to tie the match up 2-2. 

A shootout would decide who would be advancing through to the final with the teams featuring one player from each pair to face off in a 10-point tie-break.  

Alan Ross teamed up with Bruce Strachan for Aberdeen, while Allan McClure teamed up with Gavin Picken for WOSP.  

An intense tie-breaker went the way of McClure and Picken as they secured victory 10-5 for WOSP to book their place in the final. 

With Barnton Park and WOSP through to the final, Aberdeen TC played Edinburgh Sports Club in a shortened format to decide third place. Aberdeen TC bounced back from their heartbreaking semi-final defeat to secure two wins over Edinburgh Sports Club and take bronze. 

Nailbiting final

The final between Barnton Park and West of Scotland Padel was nothing short of nail-biting. 

Both first round matches went the distance with the teams splitting rubbers. Gavin and Mark Picken prevailed for WOSP with a 6-4 6-7(6) 11-9 win over David Holmes and Dexter Conrad. 

Barnton Park’s Scott Duncan and Andrew Burgess, who had substituted in for Luke McFarlane, managed to recover from a set down to edge out John Byrne and Allan McClure 6-7(4) 6-4 10-8. 

Round two saw more close matches with both rubbers going to three sets. John Byrne and Allan McClure battled back to beat David Holmes and Dexter Conrad 3-6 6-2 10-6 and extend WOSP’s lead to 2-1. 

Needing only one more rubber for the title, Gavin and Mark Picken found themselves in their third match tie-break of the day against Scott Duncan and Andrew Burgess. A quality tie-break from WOSP saw them clinch the match 6-3 3-6 10-3 and secure the 2024 Padel Tennis Scottish Cup for the first time.

Two in a row for WOSP women

The padel tennis continued on Sunday with David Lloyd Shawfair welcoming the women’s semi-finalists. 

West of Scotland Padel were hoping to defend their 2023 title as they opened the day against Thistle Padel, while home team David Lloyd Shawfair took on Edinburgh Sports Club.

Lindsay Kupiec and Gillian McIlroy opened WOSP’s account with a 6-2 6-2 win over Thistle’s Glenda Quinn and Olwyn Roy.  

Meanwhile, a three-set thriller took place as Thistle’s Michelle McCallum and Eva Vrhunec battled WOSP’s Charlotte McClure and Meghan Montgomerie. Three tie-breaks were needed for McClure and Montgomerie to prevail 6-7(3) 7-6(3) 10-4 and extend the lead to 2-0. 

The other semi-final saw Edinburgh Sports Club take command of their tie with David Lloyd Shawfair. In the first round, Desni McIntosh and Juliette Shaw defeated Adele Fletcher and Jill Greig in straight sets whilst Wendy McKenzie and Stella Wang doubled the lead with a 6-2 6-3 win over Fiona Robertson and Kirsty Robertson to give Edinburgh Sports Club a 2-0 lead. 

As the teams went back out for the second round, Edinburgh Sports Club kept their momentum going with Wendy McKenzie and Stella Wang clinching a spot in the final with a straight sets win. 

Their win was followed up by another strong performance by Desni McIntosh and Juliette Shaw to round off the semi-final tie for Edinburgh Sports Club. 

Meanwhile, Charlotte McClure and Meghan Montgomerie carried their winning form over to the second round with a straight sets win over Glenda Quinn and Olwyn Roy which secured WOSP’s place in the final.  

However, Thistle kept battling as Michelle McCallum and Eva Vrhunec recovered from a set down to overcome Lindsay Kupiec and Gillian McIlroy 5-7 6-3 10-3.  

The third place play-off between Thistle Padel and David Lloyd Shawfair took place under a shortened format. Michelle McCallum and Eva Vrhunec kept their winning momentum going as they defeated Adele Fletcher and Kill Greig in straight sets whilst Olwyn Roy and Glenda Quinn came through 7-5 6-3 against Fiona and Kirsty Robertson to give Thistle both rubbers. 

The final was set between Edinburgh Sports Club and West of Scotland Padel. WOSP took an early advantage with Charlotte McClure and Meghan Montgomerie besting Desni McIntosh and Wendy McKenzie 6-0 6-3.  

Edinburgh Sports Club’s Juliette Shaw and Stella Wang took the opening set against Lindsay Kupiec and Gillian McIlory but WOSP battled back to force a tie-break eventually winning 5-7 6-4 10-6 to double their lead. 

One more win was needed for WOSP to retain their title. Charlotte McClure and Meghan Montgomerie continued their unbeaten form as their 6-2 6-2 win clinched the title for WOSP for the second year in a row. 

Shortly after, WOSP’s Lindsay Kupiec and Gillian McIlroy came through a three setter against Desni McIntosh and Wendy McKenzie 6-1 4-6 10-8 to finish play for the weekend. 

The win secured the Padel Tennis Scottish Cup double for West of Scotland Padel as well as the women’s team remaining unbeaten in Scottish Cup play.