Kaia Kanepi and Anett Kontaveit to take to the court once more
Retired Estonian tennis stars Kaia Kanepi and Anett Kontaveit are to face off against each other this week, this time in the sport of padel ball.
Padel is usually played in a doubles configuration. While Kontaveit, former world number two, and Kanepi, who reached the quarter finals of all four grand slam competitions, have been tennis doubles partners in the past, this time they will be playing against each other.
The clash comes as part of the annual highlight of Estonia's padel scene, the Estonian Padel Association (EPL) Masters.
The tournament takes place this week with the top padel pairs battling it out on court over three evenings.
The women's games start on Thursday, with Kontaveit and Kanepi meeting in the second match. It starts at 7 p.m. at the Padel+ Kawe center on Paepargi 11 in Tallinn.
Invitations to the tournament are extended to the eight highest-ranked men and the four highest-ranked women. Players choose their own partners.
Catalan player Arnau Vidal Miro tops the men's rankings at the tournament, while local player Nora Leinus is highest ranked among the women, and not Kontaveit or Kanepi.
Three other Latin American players are also taking part in the competition (the sport originated in Mexico). It takes place over three evenings starting at 5 p.m.
On Wednesday, the men open the tournament, with top seed Vidal Miro playing his first match against young players Trevor Kosemaa and Ronan Vahtras. At the same time, Estonia national team head coach at the European Championships Marek Marksoo and Henrik Kosemaa face the twin brothers Mattias and Kristofer Siimar.
The men's final will be held on Friday at 8 p.m. The women play group matches, with the winners to be determined by total points. The final women's matches take also place on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Padel is a racket sport typically played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a tennis court. Other major differences with tennis include the solid racquets and hitting the ball off the side walls as in squash, though the scoring system is the same as with lawn tennis.
Injury brought the career of Kontaveit, 29, to an unexpected end in 2023. The previous season she had ranked as high as second in the world. Kanepi enjoyed a lengthy top-flight career, reaching the quarter finals of three of the four grand slam competitions twice each (Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the French Open) 2008-2017. She completed the set as recently as 2022, when she reached the quarter finals of the Australian Open. Her career high ranking was 15th in the world (achieved in 2012). She was the first women's player in independent Estonian history to win a singles title (the Palermo Ladies Open in 2010).
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
