Bridgette McGaw and Anneke Kirsten during their victorious Padel4Good in partnership with Racket + Ball event this past weekend. Photo: Kevin Buya
Image: Kevin Buya
Mother’s Day weekend proved especially memorable for Bridgette McGaw and Anneke Kirsten, who teamed up to claim victory at the latest Padel4Good (P4G) women’s event, held in partnership with the Racket + Ball Club this past Saturday in Bree Street, Cape Town.
The tournament brought together 32 players across 16 teams in a competitive round-robin format before the leading sides progressed to the knockout rounds. In a thrilling final, McGaw and Kirsten edged out runners-up Kayla Wheeler and Debbie Sendin after a day filled with high-quality competition and spirited camaraderie.
For McGaw, the timing of the victory made it even more meaningful.
“Yes, we’re both moms! It’s been a wonderful weekend of celebrations and feeling the love,” she said after the win.
Although now firmly immersed in padel, McGaw revealed that her sporting roots remain in tennis.
“I’ve been playing for just over three years. I am a tennis player, and still play, although padel is definitely my favourite,” she explained.
Her introduction to the sport came almost by accident when a friend asked her to stand in for a missing player.
“My friend, also a Bridgie, asked me to fill in one day for their game as someone was sick. I said I would, although I had never played before. I had only heard of this new thing called padel, but because I had a tennis background, I hoped I would pick it up quite quickly. We didn’t win, but I wasn’t too bad, and basically from then I was hooked.”
Despite only entering around 10 tournaments and a handful of leagues, McGaw’s latest triumph marked a major milestone.
“I played in the PPL (Padel Premier League), but this is my first win in a tournament — and the first time Anneke and I have played together in a tournament,” she said.
The road to the title was anything but straightforward. McGaw highlighted the quarter-finals as the pair’s defining moment mentally.
“We were 5-2 down and came back to win the match 7-5,” she recalled. “But physically, the final was the toughest game after a long morning of competing against strong opposition. You could not have got a closer final!”
Kirsten, a single mother of two teenagers, said the experience carried special significance beyond the court.
“I’m a single mother of two teens. It’s cool to show my teens that mom can still rock on the court,” she said. “It was incredibly competitive, with some very tough matches. But winning the final 8-7 required the most mental toughness.”
McGaw also praised the atmosphere and organisation of the event.
“It was a lovely day, well-organised and played in a very nice spirit. It was my first P4G tournament; I enjoyed it very much and I will be back!”
Beyond the competition itself, the event once again reflected the growing impact of Padel4Good, an initiative using padel as a platform to create social awareness and support meaningful community causes through sport. This past weekend’s proceeds were donated to the OBS Pasta Kitchen, a volunteer-driven organisation founded in 2017 that assists homeless individuals in Observatory while helping foster stronger community connections.