The former British No.1 tennis doubles duo heading out to Spain for the World Senior Padel Championships
• 4 MINUTE READ
Over the last two years former British No.1 tennis doubles team Helen Crook and Victoria Davies have swapped their rackets to become part of the Great Britain Seniors Padel team.
From the grass courts of Wimbledon to the padel courts of Spain, the duo could be set to join forces once again next month as they set their sights on the FIP World Senior Padel Championships.
We recently caught up with Helen and Victoria to talk all about their new love for the sport, the incredible senior’s community, the World Championships and why padel is such an inclusive sport for both women and men.
“We both run a LTA Coach Development Centre and are partners in the WimX tennis academy in East London which started to host padel qualifications,” said Helen. “We’re both life long friends with Jo Ward (Head of Education & Qualifications at the LTA) who started playing padel as part of her job, working on these qualifications, and she convinced me to start playing about two years ago.”
“After only playing a few times, we decided to enter a tournament. It was weird because I hadn’t competed at anything for about 20+ years but I loved it and really got into it.”
“I live near Helen in Brentwood,” Victoria explained. “She was always trying to get me to play but I wasn’t really that bothered. In the end they bought me a padel racket for Christmas, so I thought I better try it and since then I’ve just been playing more and more.”
We get to be part of a group of women, all around the same age, who just wanted to have fun and compete – it has created a really nice community to be a part of.
Helen and Victoria’s friendship and doubles partnership goes way back, having played tennis together as students at the University of South Carolina all the way through to competing on the biggest stage at Wimbledon. Now, years later, the pair have been given that opportunity to reignite their partnership, representing their country again on the world stage.
“It was a long time ago that we last played together,” Helen said. “We haven’t really competed together in padel so far, but we’re now the top ranked players in our age group, and while we don’t know the pairs yet for the World Championships, we’re hoping we’ll get the chance to come full circle."
Victoria added, "To think that 25 years on we could come together to compete again for Great Britain is really exciting. We had years together on the tennis doubles court and we run a business together so hopefully the transition will be pretty smooth.”
Just a few months after picking up a padel racket for the first time, Helen was introduced to the GB Seniors team and soon joined up with the squad, training together regularly and playing in a series of competitions.
“What’s great about the seniors team is that we get to be part of a group of women, all around the same age of 40+, who just wanted to have fun and compete – it has created a really nice community to be a part of.
“The culture in padel is that everyone just tries to help each other, it’s just so friendly. The team has introduced me to so many new people and everyone is just happy to be part of something.”
This season the FIP Seniors World Padel Championships will take place from 15-20 April at La Nucia in Alicante, Spain. The top 16 nations in the world will go head-to-head across five age group categories on the women’s and men’s side (35+, 40+, 45+, 50+ and 55+) for the title of world champions.
This year, both Helen and Victoria are set to compete in the competition for the first time as part of a squad supported by the LTA.
GB Seniors Padel squad for Seniors World Padel Championships
| Women's | Men's |
| Claire Smith | James Asensio |
| Carolina Prado | Richard Love |
|
Kerry White |
Max Holloway |
| Sarah Lochrie | Elliot Selby |
| Jo Ward | Richard Brooks |
| Libby Fletcher | Michael Tolman |
| Victoria Davies | Paul Jepson |
| Dawn Foxhall | Ben Gudzelak |
| Helen Crook | Berislav Bobus |
| Louise Baker | Ross Murdoch |
| Sally Fisher | Craig Da Silva |
| Karen Hunter | Andrew Warren |
| Nicky Horn | Kingsley Harris |
| Natalie Gil | Adrian Ezra |
| Kate Hands | David Alexander |
| Angela Crossley | Chris Warren |
| Sophie Cousins | Tim Webb |
| Nick Holloway | |
| John Brrne |
My experience of padel at tournaments so far has been incredibly friendly and I’ve just loved meeting new people. It’s super competitive but it’s respectful .
“It’s a really high level and it’s great to see older women being really competitive, strong and challenging themselves,” said Helen.
“There are more countries involved this year. I think at the last Worlds Great Britain finished 8th. If we get that or better this time having only played the sport in this country really for four years would be pretty impressive if you ask me.”
“I couldn’t play at the European’s last year so it’s all very new and exciting for me,” said Victoria. “My experience of padel at tournaments so far has been incredibly friendly and I’ve just loved meeting new people. It’s super competitive but it’s respectful and it’s always great to play as part of a team.”
Helen and Victoria are just two of thousands of women who have discovered a new-found love for padel in recent years and the duo believe that the inclusive nature of the sport makes it the perfect sport to pick up and try – no matter your age, ability or background.
“Having four on a court makes padel really social and when you pick up a racket, I think people get more satisfaction earlier on because it’s easier to play than other sports,” Victoria explained.
“You see amazing rallies between people who are playing for the first time and those who have been involved for a while.
“I think it lends itself to more mixed group sessions than a lot of other sports as well. Quite often you’ll see three women playing with a man or vice versa, or even a game of mixed doubles. You see the same with different age groups as well, it’s a much more level playing field.”
We have people in their mid-70s come down and play, trying it for the first time, having fun and getting some success on court. I think that’s very unique to padel, not many other sports can say that.
“It’s very tactical as well and doesn’t rely so much on being overly physical and technical – I often.
“Padel is for everybody. It’s amazing, we have people in their mid-70s come down and play, trying it for the first time, having fun and getting some success on court. I think that’s very unique to padel, not many other sports can say that.
“A lot of local clubs have social sessions where you can go along and try it out, meet new people and learn more about the game. All the equipment is usually supplied so I’d say just go along and give it a go – you won’t regret it!”
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