A FANTASTIC WEEKEND of county cup competition at Rocket Padel Bristol saw Yorkshire’s women clinch the O60s title for the first time in a hard-fought battle against East of Scotland. After the match was halved, Nicky Horn and Sally Fisher teamed up for the tiebreak shoot out, coming out on top 10-5 to take the day.
It was a great finale to the weekend’s competition which also saw the men’s and mixed teams win their bronze medal play-off matches to put Yorkshire in a strong position in the revamped Padel County Cup which also features open and junior competitions scheduled for November.
Pictured (LtoR): Yorkshire’s winning women’s team: Rosie Connell, Sarah Thomas, Kate Elgar, Sally Fisher, captain Sally Bickerton and Nicky Horn
All three matches ended with a 10-point shootout, testimony to the extremely close and fierce competition. The men’s team, captained by Jonathan Sowden, lost their semi-final against Gloucestershire 8-10 in a tiebreak but struck back to win another tiebreak decider against Sussex to claim third place overall.
A day earlier, Yorkshire had lost out narrowly to East of Scotland in the deciding tiebreak at the semi final stages of the mixed competition. “Nick Holloway and Sally Fisher played Scots pair Colin McGillis and Rosie Dennis, losing out 6-10, but the standard was incredible and most of the spectators were in awe,” said women’s captain Sally Bickerton.
Nicky Horn, playing with Jonny Fuller, and Kate Elgar paired up with Jonathan Sowden, went on to claim third place with a 2-0 win over Avon in the bronze medal match.
Formerly known as the UK PADEL County Championships, the newly named Padel County Cup represents a strategic collaboration between UK Padel and the LTA to further develop the competition, strengthen county-level participation, and create more opportunities for players nationwide.
The UK PADEL County Championships first launched with an open competition in November 2023 and rapidly become a highlight of the domestic padel calendar, with the 2025 event attracting more than 300 players representing counties from across Great Britain and making it the largest padel competition ever staged in the UK.
The O60s competition is the first event to take place under the new Padel County Cup banner. The Open competition is scheduled for 13–15 November and the inaugural Junior Padel County Cup takes place on 21–22 November, with all events hosted by Rocket Padel Bristol, the established home of the competition.
Introduction of a Junior Padel County Cup reflects the continued development of the competition and creates a new opportunity for young players to experience county representation and team competition.
TEAM YORKSHIRE: (back row, L to R) Sally Fisher, Nicky Horn, women’s captain Sally Bickerton, men’s captain Jonathan Snowden, Kate Elgar, Sarah Thomas; (front row) Nick Holloway, Johnny Smailwith, Jonny Fuller, Peter Vann and Neil Baldwin.