My second trip to India this year after attending the Indian Open back in February. Both these events are run by Global Sports Pickleball, an incredible team comprised of Hemal, Niraj, Divyesh, Suresh, Shashank and Yuvi.

It’s a testament to Pickleball England that the biggest pickleball tournament currently held outside of North America is the English Open. The fact that PBE run this event with only a handful of people involved in the organisation plus the volunteers for delivery is mind blowing.

The Premier Pickleball League is the first league of its kind in the UK. It was founded in 2023 by Ed Hares, Emily Jelly, Louis Laville, Freddie Powell and Mollie Knaggs to give the top pickleball players in the country more opportunities to regularly compete against each other.

The Minto US Open is the largest pickleball tournament (party) in the world, with 66 courts and 3,250 competitors in 2024. Many legends of the sport have won the US Open since its inception in 2016…

I was honoured to be picked as a part of a team of 6 to play in the inaugural APP Atlantic Cup, a team event similar to the Ryder Cup, Europe v USA.

Just two days after quitting my full-time job at Wimbledon I flew out to the States to compete in my first 2 tournaments on the APP Tour.

As I sit here reflecting on my time at The English Open 2023 and looking to the future, I feel so privileged to be a part of a sport that brings so much joy to so many lives…