On the face of it, Kotomi Ozawa and Elisabeth Nogueras Lorenz form the unlikeliest of pairs. Kotomi, the 26-year-old Japanese tennis enthusiast turned padel amateur is a qualified midwife who has attended to countless women and newborns in her three-year nursing career. Lorenz, another tennis amateur who is trying to eke out a career in padel, holds a Masters in Business Administration who had to quit her high-paying finance job in Spain to test the uncertainties of the sport she loves.

At the ongoing FIP Promotion India Padel Open – an initiative by the global body to take the sport to new geographies – the duo that came together only in February put on a superlative display to beat India’s Sharmada Balu and Prerana Prathap 6-1, 6-2. Kotomi and Elisabeth will face Spaniards Ainize Santamaria Landa and Aitana Solan Domenech in the women’s doubles final on Sunday. The latter served a double bagel to the Indo-Irani duo of Tulsi Mehta and Banafsheh Shahpar.

“It was a good game. I think we executed our strategies well and we hope to continue the momentum in the final,” said Kotomi. Hailing from Shizuoka near Mount Fuji in Japan, Kotomi grew up aspiring to play professional tennis. During her university years though, she tried her hand at padel and instantly fell in love with the sport that marries squash and lawn tennis and is played on courts around half the size of a tennis court.

“I liked the dynamics and the style. It took me some time to adjust to its rhythm because the body was used to react differently. I had to get used to the corners and the glasses, but once I unlearned the tennis habits, it became easier,” Kotomi, who has competed in international meets in Australia, Spain, England, Sweden, Italy, Indonesia and Singapore, says.

A baseliner during her tennis days, Kotomi is happy to station herself close to the net in padel while Elisabeth does most of the retrieving from the back court. With a decade of experience behind her in padel-crazy Spain, Elisabeth hopes to turn professional soon. A title on Sunday might just be the catalyst she needs.

Finals line-up:

Women’s

Ainize Santamaria Landa – Aitana Solan Domenech (Spain) vs Kotomi Ozawa (Japan) – Elisabeth Lorenz (Spain)

Men’s

Pol Alsina – Edu Altimires Ros (Spain) vs Arthur Hugounenq – Thomas Seux (France)