What was supposed to be a nice and lazy weekend with the family in gray Gothenburg turned into two padel-filled days in gray Helsingborg. It was the first big padel tournament of the year. My partner, Billie and I had decided to skip this one and recharge before the Swedish Padel Tour kicks off, but when both my husband and middle daughter said that they wanted to play at the last minute, I couldn’t help but give my partner another call…
We ended up signing up for two categories, making it to the quarters of the Men’s B and winning the Women’s Draw #swedishwomens47wins0losses. So, there were no regrets. It’s always a pleasure playing at Padel Crew Helsingborg — one of the nicest clubs in Sweden — a great facility run by a passionate staff, but one of its best aspects is its high ceiling #weretalkinglobheaven. In addition to the great surroundings, we got in some good matches. There were two in particular where we were pressured both physically and mentally to the max. In the women’s final, Billie and I were up against a new team, a very promising and dangerous one at that #ihavethebruisestoproveit, but we took more charge in the second and third sets and managed to close it out although every point was very tight and exciting. I couldn’t help but notice that some of the audience watching the men’s final on center court shifted a bit every now and then to check out our match as well #youknowgirlscanplaypadeltoo
My daughter and husband left after Saturday’s matches. So, after last night’s final, I was left alone with a two-hour drive back to Gothenburg. My only company was a crispy chicken and double cheeseburger from BK, my Spotify playlist and time to reflect. What did I bring to the tournament this weekend? A better defensive game which is a big step for me since I’m still trying to make the walls my friends and maybe, just maybe one day we could be BFFs. What did I take home from the tournament? The desire to practice even more and develop even more aspects my game. Oh, and also a cool juicing machine #firstprize #thankspadelcrew.
The next big events coming up are the first Swedish Padel Tour tournament and training camp CAMP PADEL. Looking forward to the first SPT in Löddeköpinge at the end of March. Since competition is getting tougher, Billie and I are surely in for more exciting matches. And after so many months of darkness in Sweden, I literally cannot wait for CAMP PADEL. Along with 3 other top Swedish players (Billie Gajic, Ola Brodén and Andreas Pålsson), I will be taking part as both trainer and trainee. If you don’t have any plans please come join in on the fun — training and hanging with other padel junkies in the sun. https://www.camppadel.se #padelparty #allpadelfanaticswelcome
Antonette
