The Brits at London P1
London P1, the very first Premier Padel event on UK shores, has opened the door for a select number of Brits to test their mettle against the world’s very best.
As with Wimbledon, the Brits have been handed a number of wildcards – for the main draws and qualifiers – to take full advantage of the world’s elite tour coming to London.
There is plenty of optimism for Britain’s top female pairing of Aimee Gibson and Catherine Rose, world ranked 101 and 97 respectively. The duo, who can expect plenty of home support, have an excellent track record together having contested five FIP finals – winning three titles, as well as being LTA National Padel Championships back in November 2025.
Gibson is the UK’s most successful padel player yet, with nine FIP titles, and the first British player, male or female, to break into the world’s top 100 (reaching a career high of 81). Her playing partner Rose has secured five FIP titles.
They also have Premier Padel experience, with Gibson having played four matches in 2025, while Rose competed at this year’s Newgiza P2 tournament, winning both qualifying matches to reach the main draw partnering Spain’s Lucia Perez Parra.
Left-hander Gibson, who turns 35 this month, has shown no ill-effects after returning from a five month lay-off as a result of a calf injury. In preparation for London, the duo have competed in four tournaments to be at their sharpest.
The Brit pairing have drawn a tough first match today (August 4) against former tennis player Alix Collombon, world ranked 37th, and Ksenia Sharifova, ranked 34th. The French/Russian duo have a winning rate of 72% so far this year. The match will be played on centre court, scheduled for 5pm onwards.
GB No 3 Tia Norton played qualifiers with her partner Belgium’s Helena Wyckaert yesterday, going out 6,4 6,4 to strong Spanish pairing Cañellas Rodero/Lopez Moral, world ranked 56 and 59 respectively.
Norton, 22, from Warwickshire, has a career-high world ranking of 115 and has been a pioneer of women’s padel in the UK, having started playing when she was 12. She has four FIP titles under her belt, became GB No 1 in 2021 and has the distinction of being the first Brit to win a match on the world’s top tier tour.
Brit men
The men’s main draw begins today (August 4), with five British players hoping to win through to the next round.
Britain’s No 1, Christian Medina Murphy, ranked 163, has a wealth of Premier Padel experience. His opening game will be his 50th Premier Padel match and will see him taking to the court alongside Spanish partner Alberto Garcia Jimenez. His best performance to date was reaching the quarter-finals in Cancun P2 last year.
Their match today, which follows Gibson and Rose on centre court, is against Argentinian Guitierrez (104) and Italian Lombardo (220).
Murphy, who has a career high 103, was born in Kingston-upon-Thames but has spent the majority of his life in Spain. A talented right-hander, the 27-year-old won bronze at the World Junior Championship in Mexico in 2015.
Welshman Louie Harris will join Denmark-based Scot Alex Loughran in the main draw. Harris (ranked 272) and Loughran (ranked 276) will be making their Premier Padel debuts. The duo made their first FIP Bronze final in Kaunas in March.
Completing the main draw wildcards are highly rated national players Alfonso Patacha and Chris Salisbury, also scheduled for centre court today.
Qualifying wildcards
Qualifying wildcards went to Cameron Dollimore and Theo Garton, who regularly compete together on the FIP circuit. They were joined by Britain’s top U18 player, Ben Phillips, and national team player Jamie Lobo Wordsworth. All four were knocked out in their first matches, despite a gallant fight back by Dollimore/Garton in their second set to take the match to 6 0, 7 6. 
