Northern Ireland to host record UK padel field
The strongest player field ever assembled for a UK padel tournament will compete in Northern Ireland this week as the FIP Silver R3 Bullpadel Cup - NI Open gets underway at Padel54 in Moira.
Running from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 July, the tournament marks the first time Northern Ireland has hosted a professional padel event and, by attracting the strongest field ever assembled for a UK tournament, represents the highest level of professional padel yet staged on the island of Ireland.
Part of the official CUPRA FIP Tour sanctioned by the International Padel Federation (FIP), the event has attracted more current and former world top-25 players than any previous UK tournament. Both the men's and women's draws also feature more players ranked inside the world's top 100 than any other tournament previously held in the UK.
The men's draw is headed by top seeds Javier Garrido (World No.19) and Lucas Bergamini (World No.15), with second seeds Alex Ruiz (World No.21) and Juanlu Esbrí (World No.24) further underlining the strength of the field. Also competing is former world top-10 player Miguel Lamperti, one of the sport's most recognisable and popular figures.
The women's draw features World No.47 Letizia Maria Manquillo Alarza and World No.48 Noemi Aguilar Carrillo, while British interest comes from Great Britain's leading women's pairing of R3's Catherine Rose and Aimee Gibson, together with GB No.1 men's player and R3 athlete Christian Medina Murphy.
Alongside official FIP world ranking points, players will also compete for valuable R3 Bullpadel Cup Leaderboard points as they chase a share of the series' £25,000 end-of-season bonus prize fund.
More than 500 spectators have already registered to attend, with entry free throughout the tournament. Qualification begins on Thursday 2 July before the main draw starts on Friday 3 July, culminating in the semi-finals and finals on Sunday 5 July.
Sam Kemp, Managing Director of Operations, Tournaments & Events at R3 Sport, said:
"When we launched the R3 Bullpadel Cup, our ambition wasn't simply to stage tournaments. It was to create a platform capable of attracting world-class players while giving British and Irish talent the opportunity to compete against them on home soil.
Seeing a field of this quality come together in Northern Ireland shows just how quickly the sport is evolving. It demonstrates the progress being made in establishing the UK and Ireland on the international padel calendar.
This week is an opportunity to showcase the sport at its very best, inspire the next generation of players and continue building a stronger competitive pathway across the UK and Ireland."
Bradley Bate, co-owner of Padel54, said:
"To attract world-class players of this calibre to Moira is a hugely exciting moment for Padel54, but more importantly for padel in Northern Ireland.
This is the first time players, supporters and families here will have the opportunity to experience professional padel at this level on their doorstep. For local players, it is a chance to see the standards being set internationally, learn from the best and be inspired by what is possible within the sport.
Padel has grown rapidly across Northern Ireland in recent years and hosting an event of this standard shows the momentum that is now building here. We hope the FIP Silver R3 Bullpadel Cup - NI Open encourages more people to pick up a racket, gives existing players something to aspire to and helps support the continued growth of padel across Northern Ireland.”
Media attending the tournament will have opportunities to interview tournament organisers, Padel54 representatives and selected players throughout the week. Interview requests can be arranged in advance.
For further information, interview requests or to book free spectator tickets, visit www.r3-sport.com.
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About R3 Sport
R3 Sport is a professional padel organisation operating across athlete management, tournaments and performance pathways within the UK and internationally. Through the R3 Bullpadel Cup series and its growing elite roster, R3 is focused on raising competitive standards, supporting British and Irish players on the international stage and building long-term structures within the sport.
About VVV Sports
R3 Sport forms part of VVV Sports, a next-generation sports, media and entertainment company building infrastructure behind some of the world's fastest-growing sports, including padel and pickleball.
Operating across athlete management, events, infrastructure, media and commerce, VVV Sports is expanding internationally through investment in player pathways, elite events, centres of excellence and premium sports content across the UK, Ireland, the United States and the Middle East.
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