MATCHi meets
MATCHi meets Pär-Gunnar Jönsson
Once one of the world’s best badminton players, Swedish legend Pär-Gunnar Jönsson has put his badminton rackets on the shelf and is now slowly but...
Despite only being 18 years old, Tia’s already managed to establish herself as the UK’s best female padel player. Now, we have the greatest of privileges to welcome Tia to MATCHi and support her on her continued journey. To kickstart our new partnership, we thought we’d take the opportunity to have a chat with our newfound friend.
This is Tia Norton
FirstYou’ve probably already come across Tia at some point. She’s the padel enthusiast who turned touring pro - doing so in a country where the sport is far from established. Yet. What else? She’s represented the GB women’s senior team five times, played in three European Championships and one World Championship. Aside from her impressive performances on the course, Tia and MATCHi have quite a lot in common. One of them being our willingness to introduce new people to the community and spread the joy of padel - she’s eager to get started.
"Perhaps I am excited and honoured to have the trust from MATCHi, and become an ambassador and part of the team. I have seen the passion they have for growing padel, and some of the work they have done with current ambassadors, so im thrilled to be joining this journey."
The influence of Girdo
Speaking of current ambassadors, more recently, Tia teamed up with Amanda Girdo during the WPT in august, a partnership that proved differential in her decision-making.
“After spending a lot of time with Amanda and other players part of the MATCHi family, I knew that if an opportunity ever arose to join the team, it would be put under much consideration due to the great words said about MATCHi and the amazing work done with current ambassadors. That being said, Amanda definitely had an influence in making me aware of MATCHi to begin with.”
MATCHi’s vision has always been to make racket sports more accessible, enabling people to play more. A vision that Tia shares and is eager to explore even further, especially in the UK.
“Ultimately I want to join MATCHi in growing padel as much as possible in the UK. I have seen the amazing influence they have had over the sport in Sweden, and would love to see, and be part of the same process happening in the UK market.”
High ambitions and touring
Naturally, Tia’s got an intensive period coming up, with the ultimate goal to establish herself within the top 100 in the world ranking.
“This year I will be competing in as many World Padel Tour’s as I can, as well as other international tournaments, with my main goal being to secure a top 100 position in the world ranking. Barcelona has been my main place of training these past couple of months, and will continue to remain so for the next few months as well.”
Anna Ek, Sponsor and Partnership Manager at MATCHi, is thrilled to welcome Tia to the team.
“We’re really excited to have Tia joining our team. Everybody knows about the quality she possesses on the court. Together with an influential ambassador like Tia, we hope to spread the joy of padel across the UK, introduce new people to the sport and help her on her amazing journey.”