The strongest player field ever assembled for a UK padel tournament will compete in Northern Ireland this week as the FIP Silver R3 Bullpadel Cup - NI Open gets underway at Padel54 in Moira.

Running from Thursday, July 2 - Sunday, July 5, the tournament marks the first time Northern Ireland has hosted a professional padel event and, by attracting the strongest field ever assembled for a UK tournament, represents the highest level of professional padel yet staged on the island of Ireland.

Part of the official CUPRA FIP Tour sanctioned by the International Padel Federation (FIP), the event has attracted more current and former world top-25 players than any previous UK tournament.

Both the men's and women's draws also feature more players ranked inside the world's top 100 than any other tournament previously held in the UK.

Bradley Bate, co-owner of Padel54, and Sam Kemp, Managing Director of Operations, Tournaments & Events at R3 Sport and tournament organiser. Picture: Press Eye

placeholder image — Bradley Bate, co-owner of Padel54, and Sam Kemp, Managing Director of Operations, Tournaments & Events at R3 Sport and tournament organiser. Picture: Press Eye

The men's draw is headed by top seeds Javier Garrido (World No.19) and Lucas Bergamini (World No.15), with second seeds Alex Ruiz (World No.21) and Juanlu Esbrí (World No.24) further underlining the strength of the field. Also competing is former world top-10 player Miguel Lamperti, one of the sport's most recognisable and popular figures.

The women's draw features World No.47 Letizia Maria Manquillo Alarza and World No.48 Noemi Aguilar Carrillo, while British interest comes from GB’s leading women's pairing of R3's Catherine Rose and Aimee Gibson, together with GB No.1 men's player and R3 athlete Christian Medina Murphy.

The tournament will also feature a strong line-up of local players, including former professional tennis players Sam Bothwell and Peter Bothwell, alongside 19-year-old coach and emerging local player Harry Bingham, who will compete with Padel54’s international coach Alejandro Pujante Doom.

Alongside official FIP world ranking points, players will also compete for valuable R3 Bullpadel Cup Leaderboard points as they chase a share of the series' £25,000 end-of-season bonus prize fund.

Bradley Bate, co-owner of Padel54, pictured ahead of the FIP Silver R3 Bullpadel Cup - NI Open, which gets underway at Padel54 in Moira this week. Picture: Press Eye

More than 500 spectators have already registered to attend, with entry free throughout the tournament. Qualification begins on Thursday, July 2 before the main draw starts on Friday, July 3, culminating in the semi-finals and finals on Sunday, July 5.

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Bradley Bate, co-owner of Padel54, said: "To attract world-class players of this calibre to Moira is a hugely exciting moment for Padel54, but more importantly for padel in Northern Ireland.

"This is the first time players, supporters and families here will have the opportunity to experience professional padel at this level on their doorstep. For local players, it is a chance to see the standards being set internationally, learn from the best and be inspired by what is possible within the sport.

"Padel has grown rapidly across Northern Ireland in recent years and hosting an event of this standard shows the momentum that is now building here. We hope the FIP Silver R3 Bullpadel Cup - NI Open encourages more people to pick up a racket, gives existing players something to aspire to and helps support the continued growth of padel across Northern Ireland,” Bradley continued.

Sam Kemp, Managing Director of Operations, Tournaments & Events at R3 Sport, said: "Seeing a field of this quality come together in Northern Ireland shows just how quickly the sport is evolving. It demonstrates the progress being made in establishing the UK and Ireland on the international padel calendar.”