GB no.2 Catherine Rose won her first world tour padel title in over a year at the FIP Bronze Singapore, partnering with Lucia Perez Parra. The duo defeated second seeds Carla Fernandez Gonzalez and Nerea Guerra Santana in the final without dropping a set. Rose described the victory as a significant mental barrier overcome.
Catherine Rose, Great Britain's number two padel player, expressed pride after securing her fourth FIP tour title at the FIP Bronze Singapore tournament last weekend. Teaming up with Spanish player Lucia Perez Parra, the third-seeded pair advanced through the draw undefeated, culminating in a straight-sets win over second seeds Carla Fernandez Gonzalez and Nerea Guerra Santana in the final.
Rose had previously lost to Fernandez Gonzalez and Guerra Santana twice in Australia in January alongside Aimee Gibson, and once last year in Finland with Tia Norton. Reflecting on the challenge, she told The Padel Paper: “When you’ve lost to a couple so many times in a row you start to disbelieve that you can beat them at all. Every single match I’ve had against them has been a long battle and really close. They’ve not come out in my favour, so I was really proud how I stepped up and performed this time.”
She added: “To win this one in two sets was really satisfying. It was good for my confidence and a good mental barrier to overcome. I held solid all the way through and had hardly any dips. When I did have one, I managed to recover really well. I think we executed a game plan really well. It was a satisfying one to win.”
This marked the fourth tournament for Rose and Perez Parra, who began their partnership in February at the Diagonal Academy in Madrid. “We’re starting a project together and each tournament has got better,” Rose said. She highlighted the importance of commitment in partnerships: “It’s one of the hardest parts of padel but also the most important; to find someone who’s got similar goals to you, is committed and wants to stick at it. People tend to chop and change if things don’t go well after a couple of tournaments. They’re always looking for something better. So it’s nice to find someone who wants to really work at a partnership and improve it together.”
Rose noted major improvements in their play and expressed excitement for upcoming events, including this week’s FIP Silver in Manila, Philippines, and a FIP Bronze in Hong Kong. This title is her first without GB no.1 Aimee Gibson. The 26-year-old remains enthusiastic: “I am still loving it! It’s obviously more enjoyable when you win. If you’re not winning it does become a bit demoralising. I haven’t had a title or made a final in over a year, so to make a final and have some really good wins is really nice for my confidence going forward.”