The Sportland Ladies Cup took place at the Padelsquare center in Laagri, just south of Tallinn at the weekend.

Kontaveit, a former world number 2 in tennis, and her partner, top-ranked padel player, Nora Leinus, took the win in the highest-category A-class.

As for what had been the most challenging aspect of transitioning from tennis to padel, Kontaveit said this was "getting rid of the tennis strokes" and "playing off the walls, though it's getting better little by little. I can't practice much, just once or twice a week, but I feel a bit more comfortable each time," she added.

Padel is a doubles racket sport of Mexican origin, played on a smaller court with walls, using solid, stringless bats and a lower serve.

A total of 32 pairs took part across four categories in a timed match format, fitting in as many games as possible within a 20-minute period.

Leinus said Kontaveit was improving "not slowly, but very quickly," adding it had been "a really great day; a fast-paced tournament like this on a Saturday is a lot of fun, plus winning is always nice. Choosing the right partner is the most important thing – that's an old and well-known fact. I'm very happy and can definitely learn a lot from her as well."

The A-class and B-class featured nearly the entire top tier of Estonian padel players; in the first semi-final, Kontaveit and Leinus asserted their dominance over two of these, Kirke Kuuskvere and Liina Suurvarik, whom they beat 7:2.

In the final, they defeated fourth-ranked player Elisabeth Alla and last summer's Estonian mixed doubles champion Valeria Gorlatš, 8:4.

Kontaveit retired from tennis after 2023's Wimbledon Championships and following persistent injuries. She ranked as high as second in the world just a year earlier.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!