Twelve British wildcards get their Premier Padel moment as the tour's UK debut opens at Olympia

Twelve British players are in a Premier Padel main draw for the first time as the elite tour opens the London P1 at Olympia today. It is the circuit's first event on British soil, and the timing hands the home players the spotlight: the 16 seeded pairs do not start until the round of 16 on Wednesday, so the opening two days belong to qualifiers and wildcards.

The home wildcards

On the women's side, British No. 1 Catherine Rose and No. 2 Aimee Gibson both received main-draw wildcards. The men's contingent is led by long-time GB No. 1 Christian Medina Murphy, who partners Spain's Alberto Garcia Jimenez, alongside Louie Harris, Alex Loughlan, Alfonso Patacho and Chris Salisbury. More British names, including top junior Ben Phillips and Jamie Lobo Wordsworth, filled out the qualifying draw.

Gibson, back from a five-month injury, said the call to put her in the main draw "means the world." Louie Harris has framed the week as a breakthrough moment for British padel and a real test of how many fans the sport can pull into a London arena.

When the stars arrive

The seeds join on Wednesday. Agustin Tapia and Arturo Coello are top-seeded, with Pretoria champions Ale Galan and Fede Chingotto seeded second, and Juan Lebron and Leo Augsburger third. Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay head the women's draw, ahead of Bea Gonzalez and Paula Josemaria. British viewers can stream the early rounds on the Premier Padel YouTube channel, with Red Bull TV carrying the closing stages.