Andrew Unwin starred in an historic week for pickleball at a record-breaking Skechers English OPEN.

Retired chartered surveyor Unwin, 60, featured in the English Open at the Telford International Centre – the largest pickleball event taking place outside of North America.

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.

“My brother lives in Canada and we were supposed to by skiing, but there was no snow, so their neighbours suggested we come and play pickleball,” said Bristol's Unwin.

“My response was ‘what the hell is pickleball?’ but we went along and my wife loved it.

“I’d retired from sport because of many different injuries, especially from tennis, and we played and I thought it was good, I ran around like a headless chicken, and we’ve been playing ever since.”

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.

“We run the Bristol club now, we started in August last year and we’ve now got 200-plus members, we run seven sessions a week and I’m doing my Level 1 coaching course,” added Unwin.

“We had people in the final last night and a load of the Bristol club stayed behind, and we didn’t leave until 10:30pm, but the atmosphere was just brilliant.

“We got three golds and a silver in the first few days and they were all from players who are just starting out.”

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