Our O40s padel teams travelled to Bristol for the UK Padel O40s County Championships 2026, held at Rocket Padel.
The Teams
Men’s | Olivier Gracia (Capt), Luke Aggas, Nick Macey, Simon Croydon, Neil Cook
Ladies | Hannah Richards (Capt), Fleur Woodall, Lizzie Oliver-Yates, Chrissy Downs, Rachel Clough, Jess Pike
The weekend kicked off with a tough opening mixed match against strong opponents Kent. A closely fought encounter saw our team edge the win in a shootout. The next two matches went to Dorset with the final group match against Avon. A tough one but the team dug deep securing another shootout win. With four wins from four, the team topped the group and progressed to the quarter finals v South Wales. A tight contest going to a shootout with Dorset narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-final with the win going to South Wales who went on to reach the final.
This year saw Dorset’s first-ever Ladies Over 40s team compete at the County Championships. Drawn in a tough group, the team took valuable lessons from an early loss to Essex and grew in confidence with every match. Two tense, high-pressure shootouts against Lancashire and the Channel Islands showed real resilience and grit, even if the results didn’t quite fall our way. A hugely positive debut, laying solid foundations for future County Championships.
The men’s team had a tough draw, with 2025 winners, Surrey and 2024 winners Channel Islands in their group. Saturday brought two narrow defeats, including a match decided by a second-set tie-break. The team responded brilliantly on Sunday with a convincing win over Wiltshire, taking real momentum into the final group match against Surrey, who once again showed their quality as last year’s champions and this year’s runners-up. Plenty of positives, strong performances and valuable learnings to build on for next year.
