JERSEY claimed padel inter-insular honours on home soil with a convincing 45-19 win over Guernsey.
Jersey’s victory in the sixth edition of the inter-island competition, avenging last year’s defeat in Guernsey, means the overall Corcuera Cup score is now level at three apiece.
St Clements Sports Hub hosted 64 matches across the weekend, from Saturday morning through to Sunday afternoon.
Jersey remained unbeaten throughout and managed to win all four categories across the two-day competition.
The Open Men saw the tightest scoreline, with Jersey edging the category 9-7, while the other three categories saw the Caesareans claim 12-4 victories in the Women’s Open, Men’s Veterans and Women’s Veterans.
Island Padel co-founder and Men’s Open player Scott Clayton said last year’s heavy defeat had provided extra motivation ahead of the weekend.
“After taking such a hit last year where we lost heavily, it was important for us to not necessarily win but to make it closer,” he said.
“That was obviously the focus and everyone delivered. I think the pressure was on them a little bit because they won so convincingly last year.”
Natasha Forrest and Suzy Cornic confirmed themselves as the pair of the weekend, dropping just two games across six sets and three matches.
Forrest and Cornic won 6-0, 6-0 in all three of their matches on Saturday, before following that up with a confident 6-2, 6-0 victory on Sunday.
Emma Devenport and Jodie Mercier also impressed with some standout results in the Over-45 Women’s category, dropping just three games across their three matches on Saturday.
Clayton highlighted a number of other strong performances across the veterans categories, with Dave Lawrenson and Alan Caser winning all four of their matches in the Men’s Veterans.
Seeded third, the pair defeated all four seeded pairs, while Bero Bobus and Stuart Conroy also went unbeaten.
Devenport was another standout performer, winning all four of her matches in the Women’s Veterans.
The Men’s Open was more hotly contested, with all Jersey pairs losing at least one of their fixtures.
Olly Cull and Liam De La Mare from Guernsey proved quite the force, winning all three of their match-ups.
De La Mare, ranked just outside the world’s top 1,500, and Grade 1 title winner Cull, won all three of their matches on rival soil.
Forrest, who proved to be one of the standout performers over the weekend, admitted she and Cornic arrived with confidence but knew they would face some difficult tests.
“It was amazing,” she said. “I think Suzy and I were going into the weekend feeling pretty confident.
“We’ve both been working really hard recently and we knew that we’d have a couple of tough matches, particularly the last one, but we were really happy with the results we produced.”
The pair’s final match proved anything but a contest, however, as they cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 success against Guernsey’s Chantel De La Mare and Lauren Watson-Steele.
“We knew it would be tough, but we just managed to stay solid and give them the balls they didn’t like, so we were really happy with the result.”
Forrest’s success comes despite still being relatively new to padel, having previously established herself in tennis.
She believes the crossover between the two sports has helped her make the transition, particularly when playing at the net.
“Having the tennis background really helps with padel because the skills are really transferable, particularly at the net,” she said.
“I still try and keep up the tennis, but obviously padel is new for me, so it’s kind of like learning new skills. That’s why it’s really exciting.”
The home advantage also played its part, with Forrest able to call on plenty of family and friends to provide support from the sidelines.
“It definitely was an advantage because there was lots of noise,” she said.
“It definitely helps a lot on home soil, and on the courts that we train on as well. That helps from that point of view for sure.”
Forrest has also been encouraged by the rapid growth of padel in Jersey, with the sport attracting players of all ages and abilities.
“Jersey have done a really good job of making it an inclusive sport,” she said.
“People are just playing so much, so they are getting better and better. The wall is becoming their friend, which I think is what everyone struggles with as they come into the game.
“But it’s so nice to see so many people down there in such a lovely environment.”
Forrest said the mix of Open and Veteran categories was another positive aspect of the weekend.
“They’ve definitely been playing a bit longer, so they’ve got more experience,” she said.
“Having conversations with them about different shots that they play and how they train is so insightful.
“It’s really good to have both categories on the same weekend.”
Clayton believes the inter-island rivalry adds another dimension to the competition, despite the close relationship between the players on either side of the Channel.
“In padel, a bit like tennis, we’re very used to competing with each other as a county of the Channel Islands, so there is that kind of fun rivalry there,” he said.
“We do get on with the Guernsey guys, though, and it’s always a nice social event. It’s nice to play different people.”
Forrest believes Jersey’s overall performance is also a reflection of the work being put in away from competition, with coaching and regular games against different partners helping players develop.
“The coaching is phenomenal in Jersey now, and they’re only getting better,” she said.
“Everyone’s always down there working hard. They’re playing different pairs each time, so different game styles, which is really important.
“Just having a left-handed player as opposed to a right-handed player makes a massive difference with the spin.”
Despite the success on home soil, Clayton is already looking ahead to next year’s competition in Guernsey.
“Ultimately, it was a really successful event and fun to be a part of,” he said.
“Now obviously, we really want to go and win it in Guernsey next year. If we can be the first team to do it on away turf, that would be really cool.
“That’s a big drive over the coming months. If we can have a big drive pre the next one, rally up the troops and go there and get the win, it would be great.”
CORCUERA CUP INTER-INSULAR
DAY ONE SCORES
- Open Women
- Jersey 9–3 Guernsey
- Open Men
- Jersey 5–3 Guernsey
- 45+ Men
- Jersey 9–3 Guernsey
- 45+ Women
- Jersey 9–3 Guernsey
Overall Day One
Jersey 32–12 Guernsey
DAY TWO SCORES
- Open Women
- Jersey 3-1 Guernsey
- Open Men
- Jersey 4-4 Guernsey
- 45+ Men
- Jersey 3-1 Guernsey
- 45+ Women
- Jersey 3-1 Guernsey
Overall Day Two
Jersey 13-7
Overall 45-19
Ladies Open squad:
Natasha Forrest /Suzy Cornic
Jodie Mercier /Emma Devenport
Jolien Borrenberghs /Gabby De Cordova
Katie Evans/Francesca Dubras/Claire Jubb
Ladies Vets squad:
Nikki Faux/Jo Barnes
Tania Hunt/Sarah Barnes
Jane Jenkins/Emma Casson
Yola Szczerbiak/Val Brown
Men’s Open squad:
Marnix Van Dalen /Scott Clayton
Jon Southern /Reuben Legge
Luis Zamora /Tom Middleton
Aaran Eastwood /Joel McKinlay
Men’s Vets squad:
Stuart Conroy/ Bero Bobus
Morgan Jubb / Ian Furness
Alan Caser /Dave Lawrenson
Craig Stewart /Pete De Momme
