For American professional pickleball player Erik Lange, bigger proved to be better at the Skechers English Open as he won gold in the men’s doubles alongside Max Manthou in front of a sizeable crowd.

Lange and Manthou’s thrilling 11-9 7-11 11-9 victory in the final over fellow countrymen Richard Livornese and Jack Munro attracted more and more spectators at the Telford International Centre’s show court.

The 2024 English Open was the largest pickleball event to take place outside of North America, with a record number of almost 2,000 players from 42 countries set to participate.

Over 30,000 people around the United Kingdom now play the sport and there are over 700 places in which to play, with pickleball displaying an exponential growth in recent years.

Lange said: “We like performing in front of the crowds.

“This is a sport that, yes, it’s about pickleball but it’s also entertainment, so the more people we can attract into the stadium can make us feel special but still enjoy pickleball.

“This is my first English Open and hopefully not my last.

“It’s a great place to come and it’s been the most fun experience I’ve had interacting with the locals here, hearing them speak in different accents, and they’re all so friendly.

“Besides the pickleball, exploring the community of Telford has been a treat that I certainly won’t forget and hopefully I’ll be back again next year.”

Lange’s triumph alongside Manthou, who had earlier won the men’s singles title during the event, was part of seven days’ high-level competition in Telford, during which the rise of pickleball was made clear.

The English Open was an inclusive event for people of ages from seven to 70-plus and of varying abilities and was a roaring success for Pickleball England, who have reported a 41 per cent increase in member registrations since the end of 2023.

On how hard-fought claiming gold was in Telford, Lange said: “There were so many ebbs and flows in that particular match.

“Max and I have been playing together for about six months or so, we play all of the regular tournaments, we play in an MLP (Major League Pickleball) team all over the States and we have very good chemistry.

“We feel very confident going into every match we play.

“The young guys we played today are part of the APP (Association of Pickleball Players) NextGen team and, honestly, they played terrifically well.

“It’s the best I’ve seen Richard play – Jack is a little more of an accomplished player, but Jack is on the come-up and he played really well.

“It was close throughout, the three games were tight and we just happened to get a few points right at the end that mattered most to clinch the win.”

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