A Southfields woman has been named Female Padel Player of the Year at the national LTA Awards, held last week at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, the same venue where she first picked up a padel racket three and a half years ago.
Catherine Rose, 26, received the award on 16 April. She is British No.2 and ranked 110 in the world. Before padel, she played rugby.
She first tried the sport at the NTC at the end of 2021, after leaving university. She turned professional in July 2024, less than three years later.
“When I first started padel three years ago, no one knew what padel was,” Rose said at the ceremony. “Now you say that you play padel and everyone knows what it is. It’s really exciting to be at the forefront of a sport that’s growing massively.”
Last December, Rose and British No.1 Aimee Gibson became the inaugural LTA Padel National Champions. “We had some really tricky matches, we had to lock in, focus,” Rose said after the win. “This is the icing on the cake.”
More than 3,000 nominations were submitted across 14 award categories at the ceremony. Alex Loughlan won Male Padel Player of the Year.
Putney.news has reported on the rapid expansion of padel courts across Wandsworth.
