Leading women’s British padel player Victoria Nicholas has been given an opportunity to maximise her potential with a sponsorship deal from ambitious padel operator Soul Padel.
The 30-year-old has become the first female ‘Brand Ambassador’ for Soul Padel, which will see her support the UK-based operator’s drive to grow the sport.
Victoria, who is also an NHS doctor, joins fellow GB star Theo Garton as an ambassador for Soul Padel, which begins hosting Summer Padel Festivals at Decathlon’s Stockport and Glasgow’s Braehead store from June 3.
Victoria, the current LTA No 4, who combines training and competing with working three days a week at Chelsea &
Westminster Hospital in London, has put her medical career ambitions on hold in a bid for success on the padel court.
The financial backing from Soul Padel will enable the former county tennis player to compete on both the domestic
and FIP circuit, where she has struck up a useful partnership with fellow London-based player Catherine Rose.
Victoria said: “I really appreciate the backing from Soul Padel and I am looking forward to being brand ambassador and supporting its activities to promote padel. The sponsorship will be a major help and hopefully assist me to take my padel to the next level. I’ve improved my ranking gradually and am now the current LTA number four. My goal is to try and improve my world ranking and get into the world’s top 150.
“If I can build on Soul Padel’s support with additional sponsorship, I feel I could focus the next couple of years on giving padel a good go. I’m not getting any younger, so it would be good to see what level I can achieve.”
Role Model
Mark Hewlett, founder and CEO of Soul Padel, said: “We are so excited to have Victoria join the Soul Padel team as brand ambassador and we look forward to supporting her ambitions on the padel circuit.
“Victoria has a huge role to play in encouraging the next generation of young girls to take up this amazing sport and
become the padel stars of the future, and she is perfectly suited to such a role. Watching her career closely also suggests she’s destined for big things too.
“I can also relate to Victoria’s career and experiences in the NHS, having spent over three years in the health sector. She is a role model both on and off the court and someone perfectly suited to our own values and vision to welcome everyone to the court to meet, play and connect.”
Euros ambitions
Victoria, has recently moved her training to The Padel Hub in Slough, where she is able to train with doubles partner Catherine. The pair have already claimed victory at the LTA Grade 1 HOP event at Harrogate’s Surge Padel in February
Previously, she was coached by former World Padel Tour player Álex Grilo at Rocks Lane padel centre in Chiswick, London.
Victoria said: “Catherine and I have been training with Miguel Gascon at the Padel Hub. I really appreciate its ongoing support. We’ve been playing together for three months or so and we work pretty well together. The plan is to carry on for as long as possible.
“We get on really well on and off the court as our personalities are quite similar, while how we play complements each other well. A real advantage is the fact that we can train together.
“I’ve also worked my way into the GB Team as well, which I wasn’t involved in a year ago. I think the partnership I have with Catherine could be a bonus. The team for the Euros hasn’t been announced yet, but touch wood, I will be in there as a fairly solid pair with Catherine.”
Soul Padel, which was launched at the end of 2023, is planning to open a number of facilities, including a centre of excellence, to meet much-needed demand and be instrumental in the growth of the sport in the United Kingdom.
The company, which also aims to create community hubs through padel, has initially identified various locations across north-west England.
