BELAIR--The International Senior Padel Tour semi-finals and finals concluded on Sunday in thrilling fashion at the SXM Padel Club in Belair, the players entertaining spectators with their speed, skill and flair for the game.
The awards ceremony brought the curtain down for this year. From December 7 to 10, over 60 teams competed from around the world, hailing from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Panama, Puerto Rico, England, France, Spain, Curacao, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Trinidad, Ireland and the USA. Male players were divided into five age categories: 35 plus, 40plus, 45plus, 50plus, and 55 plus while female players were divided into two sections Promo A and B. In the final results the 55 plus category was won by Mauritz Miranda and Simon England, the 50 plus category by Roque Roasio and Simon England, the 45 plus category by Alex Schvartz and Patrick Marmolejo, 40 plus by Shane Stone and Nick Frank, and the 35plus category by Roque Roasio and Edouard Casabo. A Sunday evening highlight that drew a lot of attention was the 50 plus match between 63-year-old Simon England (England), and Roque Roasio (Argentina), founder of the Senior tournament, who beat Enrique Tracchia (Uruguay) and Eduardo Casabo (Uruguay) 4-6, 7-6, and 11-9 in the tie breaker. In the female division Julia and Nancy Lelorrain in Promo A beat Pascale Wong and Ingrid Miranda in Promo B. It was the first time the ladies had their own tournament in age categories. Young girls as young as 12 and 15 were also going toe-to-toe with older players. Managing Director of SXM Padel Club Ricardo Perez noted with pride: “Even though we are a new destination and a new Padel club in the region, we have been able to secure this prestigious tournament two years in a row now. We are only going to get bigger every year.” That good fortune is most certainly attributed to expansion of the facilities, a third court inaugurated earlier in the year and an enlarged food and refreshment and social area on an upper deck from where spectators have a birds-eye view of the games. It has also helped interest in the sport to rapidly grow in St. Maarten. “We were honoured to have some professional players, Shane Stone for one who was at one point number two in Padel in the USA, former professionals from Argentina and Uruguay, and others who have been in the sport from the beginning. To have that calibre of player gives more kudos to the tournament,” Perez added.
