The APPT 2025 season is now well underway, following the conclusion of the Thai double-header in Phuket.
Padel Phuket @ Blue Tree was once more a wonderful venue for the APPT Phuket Open, and following on from the triumph of the APPT Bangkok Open at Pad Thai Padel the weekend before, Thailand has firmly stamped its name on the map as a giant of Asia Pacific Padel.
Padel Phuket is the first club the APPT has returned to, with the first Phuket Open having been held there in May 2024, and once more, the venue played host to a wonderful event, enjoyed by players and fans alike.
Players began arriving on Thursday to practice and familiarize themselves with their new surroundings, as finishing touches were added by the Padel Phuket team, to ensure all was ready for 8am the next morning. 124 teams entered the event, with mens amateur the dominant category, strong with 49 pairs.
Let The Games Begin!
The first of 167 matches was called at 8am Friday morning, the tournament was Go Go Go! The Pro Mix category for first up, with 11 really strong teams desperate to defeat the new all conquering mixed pair of Irena Chernaya and Tim Brown. After many long, tough encounters in the early rounds, the final came down to Tim and Irena and the number two seeds, Christian Didier from Malaysia, and Yoshino from Japan.
A big crowd gathered at sunset on Sunday evening around the central court to watch the pulsating match, with the underdogs pushing Tim and Irena all they way, but once again, they would prevail and give further confirmation that they are the team to beat in the Pro Mix category.
The Pro Female category also produced some fabulous matches, none more so than a Sunday morning semi final between Irena and her Catalunian partner Anais Gomart against the Mexican Elisa and her Thai partner Ji Vichitong, both of whom had traveled from Dubai for the event – the masters finals experience in Dubai luring them to Thailand for more APPT fun.
The match was nothing short of an epic under scorching midday heat. Twists and turns at every possible moment left spectators clueless as to who would come out on top, but after almost 3 hours, it was Anais and Irena who booked themselves a space in the final for the first time, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6.
In the final, they would meet the Russian par of Alena Vasileva and Angelina N, the champions of Bangkok just one week ago. These two teams actually met in the quarter finals last week with the Russians winning 6-0 6-0, so they had every right to be confident as the match got underway.
The first set was super tight, almost every game going to Deuce, and several going to Golden Point, resulting in breaks of serve on either side, and all signs pointed towards a tie-break. But, at the crucial stage of the set, Alena and Angelina broke and clinched the first set 7-5.
The second set began with an extended delay as Angelina suffered a large nose-bleed. Eventually, it stopped and the players made their way beck to the court. Angelina could have been forgiven for this impacting her focus or composure, but instead, it seemed to be a catalyst for success, and she upped her level significantly, helping her partner to power to a second successive title.
A brave fight from Irenya and Anais and a significant on the week before, giving them lots of positive signs to move forward with.
In the Mens Pro, 16 teams entered, and all sixteen showed huge quality during the main draw and consolation matches. The lower ranked teams fought hard, but it was the top 4 seeds who made it to the semi finals – the same four teams as last week in Bangkok, but this time with different match-ups.
Semi-final 1 saw Pol Alsina and Edu Altimires take on Tim Brown and Shungo Kusakabe, all APPT stalwarts, but this was the first time these exact teams have come against each other. Pol & Edu showed their class in set 1, but Tim and Shungo showed their quality and incredible fight which has seen them be so successful in all previous tournaments in Set 2 to win it 7-6 and force a decider.
Fortunately for Pol and Edu, they seemed to be able to move up a gear in set 3, and they cruised to victory in the 3rd set and a place in the final. But huge credit to Tim and Shungo who once again, proved themselves to be the strongest pair in the Mens Pro with players from Asia Pacific countries.
Semi-final 2 was a rematch of last weeks epic Bangkok Open final – champions Marc Bernils & Sergi Nogueras vs runners-up, Raul Marcos and Sergio Alba. This time was an entirely different contest – Raul and Sergio looked hungry to rewrite opinions and prove their quality, and this coincided with an off day for Marc & Sergi. After a long wait to get started, it was over quickly, Raul and Sergio booking their place in a second APPT final, 6-1 6-1.
The final was a much closer affair, and a rematch of the semi-final in Bangkok last week, where Raul and Sergio came out on top in 3 sets. Pol and Edu found their rhythm early in the match and looked confident as the match got underway, but Raul and Sergio were quick to stay equal, and soon forced the first break, which proved to be crucial – the first set going the way of Raul and Sergio 6-3.
The second set was equally tight with breaks from both teams. The quality was at an all time high with a series of incredible rallies, huge kick smashes, out of court rescues and more. But in the end, it was a 6-3 ending once more, again in favour of Raul & Sergio, which saw them crowned the APPT Kings of Phuket and very deservingly so.
In the Mens Amateur category, the level was as high as ever. It saw a new record being broken for the longest ever APPT match. For 3 hours and 20 minutes, Rob Moore & Ari Amsellem battled it out with Nick Vansittart and Andy Carter, with the match eventually going in favour of Nick & Andy 5-7, 7-5 7-6.
In the end, the Mens Amateur Winners were very deserving, but in a rather disappointing manner with the runners up being forced into an injury retirement. But nonetheless, congratulations to Antoine Gontard and Liam Bss, defeating Daniel Montero and Jose Francisco Lopez.
In the womens amateur, the star of the show was 11 year old Chikage from Japan. Despite not winning the tournament, her incredible skills wowed everyone watching, and the constant smile on her face was inspiring. But huge congratulations to the finalists Mei Ling Young and Luciana Ingaramo against Budsarin Raktaengam and Olga Khlopetskaya who fought hard to reach the final, and then battle out and exciting 6-4 6-4. It was Mei Ling and Luciana who were victorious in the end – a fantastic victory!
Finally in the mixed amateur, the final was battled out by Chun Ho Chow and Dawn Olsen, and a team who traveled all the way from Dubai – Elizabeth Hernández Silva and Hamdan Alketbi. It was a great match also and very even, but it was Chun and Dawn who were the winners in a super tight battle. Congratulations!
A wonderful tournament, and huge thanks to the Padel Phuket team for all their efforts to make it happen. Roll on Manila – 2025 is only just getting started!
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