Guy Laville followed in his brother’s footsteps at a record-breaking Skechers Pickleball English OPEN.

Admin worker Laville, 22, featured in the English Open at the Telford International Centre – the largest pickleball event taking place outside of North America – as his older brother and European champion Louis took on the world’s best.

With ages from 7 to 70+ competing, the event is reflective of the incredible growth in pickleball over recent years, with a record number of almost 2,000 players from 42 countries participating in a sport which has aspirations of making the Olympic programme.

“At the end of 2016, I went out with my mum and my brother to the States to see my godmother,” said Laville.

“She introduced us to the sport there, me and my mum fell in love with the sport really quickly and we looked for pickleball back in the UK, and I managed to get Louis into it as well.

“It used to be quite competitive between us, but I don’t play as much as he does anymore – I get to play about once every two weeks or so because of my work schedule and other things going on.”

This year’s English OPEN comprised seven days of high-level competition, with the world’s top professionals from America, Europe and Asia taking to the court in singles, doubles, mixed, wheelchair and junior events.

A hybrid of tennis, badminton & table tennis, the sport’s popularity has been attributed to its accessibility. Easy to pick up and fun to play, the sport’s accessibility transcends demographics, providing it with universal appeal.

“This is actually the first time I’ve come to the English Open and the event here has been really good, although with the scheduling in the first couple of days it felt like there was a lot of waiting around,” added Laville.

“I preferred the mixed doubles when we were on and off court straight away, as I like going straight back into a game, rather than have an hour off in between.”

Pickleball England has announced a record number of players competing at this year’s English OPEN from the 8th-14th August at the Telford International Centre in the largest pickleball event taking place outside of the USA EVER – visit pickleballengland.org