For casual players who have only discovered padel in the last year or two, it can be easy to forget that the sport has been building a junior programme in Britain for some time. While most of us are still figuring out bandejas and fighting over court bookings on Playtomic, a generation of younger British players has been developing enough to take on the rest of Europe at international level.

That’s exactly what happened in Porto this week. From 27 June, Great Britain’s boys’ and girls’ junior teams competed in the FIP Junior Euro Padel Cup 2026 – and for the first time in the competition’s history, they showed up.

What the tournament is

The FIP Junior Euro Padel Cup is the main European team championship for junior padel, organised by the International Padel Federation. It covers three age groups – Under 14, Under 16, and Under 18 – with boys’ and girls’ competitions running separately.

The format works like this: nations enter a qualification stage, competing in groups to earn a place in the Final 8. Each group tie consists of three matches, one at each age level. The top team from each group moves through; the Final 8 then runs separately with the eight best nations per competition.

This year, 18 boys’ teams and 15 girls’ teams entered the qualification stage at Padel Athletic Club in Porto. Spain, France, Sweden and Belgium were already guaranteed spots in the boys’ Final 8 based on previous results. On the girls’ side, Spain, Italy, Portugal and France held those pre-qualified places.

GB’s first appearance

Britain has entered previous junior international events – the FIP Promises circuit has given individual players experience at international level – but this was the first time GB assembled full boys’ and girls’ teams for the Junior Euro Padel Cup. The LTA had opted out in 2022 and 2024, citing concerns about having sufficient depth across all three age groups. By 2026, that had changed.

The boys’ squad was coached by former GB player Frankie Langan alongside national junior coach Libby Fletcher. Among the players were Ben Phillips, Stan Hunt, Oliver Grantham (based in Spain) and Andrew Dunn from Smash Padel Bicester – a mix of home-grown talent and players gaining experience in padel’s heartlands.

The girls’ squad included Chloe de la Mare, Rosie Quirk, Lucy Bertram and Tullulah Butterfield, alongside several others across the three age categories.

Both teams entered as the lowest group of seeds, which given their debut status was expected. The draw placed the boys in Group D alongside Estonia, Finland, Denmark and Poland. The girls were in a smaller Group A alongside Belgium and Czech Republic.

How the boys got on

The boys had the better run of the two teams. They picked up wins against Estonia, Finland and Poland in their group – positive results for a debut team against nations with more established junior programmes.

The decisive match came against Denmark. It went to the wire. In the U14 tie, Tyler Monfillo and Shay Hanif lost 6-2, 6-4 to Karl-Emil Angermair and Marius Damgaard Bojesen. In the U16 tie, Olly Grantham and Harley Dixon took it to a tiebreak in the second set before losing 7-5, 7-6(3) to Pelle Hansen and Lasse Leiholm. The U18 pair of Ben Phillips and Cochise Bennett won their match 6-1, 6-2, but with Denmark having already secured two of the three ties, the group was settled.

Denmark advanced to the Final 8. GB missed out by a single match.

How the girls got on

The girls’ qualification was harder to read. In a three-team group, the opening match against Belgium effectively determined everything – with only one team advancing from the group, there was no margin for error.

GB won the U14 tie: Rosie Allen and Elizabeth Vellacott beat Anna Wauters and Marie van Bruyssel 6-3, 6-0. But Belgium took the U16 and U18 ties. Nanou Vereertbrugghen and Hanne van Bruyssel beat Chloe de la Mare and Lucy Bertram 7-5, 6-4, while Axelle Moens and Llum Martorell Gruwez beat Rosie Quirk and Aimee Connolly 6-3, 6-4.

Belgium, one of the stronger junior nations in Europe and pre-qualified for the Final 8 on the girls’ side, proved too strong. GB bounced back to beat Czech Republic 3-0 in their final group match, but the elimination had already been confirmed.

Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands and Estonia earned the four qualification spots in the girls’ draw. On the boys’ side, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands and Denmark came through.

What the results show

The results – two first-round exits – look flat on paper. In context, they tell a different story.

Britain sent teams to this competition for the first time. They assembled squads across six age categories, with coaches who have been building the junior programme over several years. The boys beat three nations and pushed Denmark, one of the sides who advanced to the Final 8, to the wire. The girls won their opening U14 tie against Belgium before the group slipped away.

The nations winning the Final 8 spots – Spain, France, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Denmark – are countries where padel has been embedded for a decade or more. Spain and France have national youth academies. Sweden has had an organised junior structure since the 2010s. These are the programmes Britain is measuring itself against, and the gap is closing from a standing start.

If you’re curious about what the British junior pathway looks like and how players get into international competition, the FIP Promises circuit is worth understanding – it’s been one of the main routes for younger British players to get international experience ahead of events like this one.

For anyone wondering whether padel has depth in the UK beyond the social scene, the junior programme is one of the clearest answers. The players in Porto this week are at the start of something. The question is how much support and structure they get over the next few years.

For more on what UK padel looks like right now at every level – from recreational to competitive – our 2026 overview of the sport in Britain covers where things stand.