A record 1,468 players are entered for the English Nationals, which start at the University of Bolton Arena in Horwich on Thursday 29 October. That is more than six times the 237 who played at the first event in 2021.
Six years of growth
Bolton has hosted every edition, and entries have risen each year: 237 in 2021, 430 in 2022, 696 in 2023, 1,050 in 2024 and 1,187 last year. The 2026 event, the sixth, runs until Sunday 1 November.
How it works
The Nationals is a doubles-only event, with players aged from eight to 80 on 25 courts built from eight tennis courts. Play starts at 9am each day, and England’s top professionals are among the entrants, many of them also leading competitors in Europe. Local clubs including Markland Hill Racquets Club and Leigh Pickleball Club are also entered.
Last year’s event gives a sense of the format. It had 57 age and skill events, with group games played together and knockout rounds after them, which left players time to watch, volunteer or have lunch. Paddles were tested at the event, and nine of the 243 checked failed. Entry was open to Pickleball England members who live in or were born in England.
The reigning champions
In the Open categories, Thaddea Lock and Molly O’Donoghue won the women’s doubles last year, Louis Laville and Josh Bright the men’s doubles, and O’Donoghue and Laville the mixed. In the Senior Open, Anna Linton and Richard Love won the mixed, Love and David Youngs the men’s, and Linton and Marcia Audibert the women’s.
Several of them will be familiar to our readers. James Chaudry, our Coaches’ Corner partner and a Pickleball Directory ambassador, won the 2024 men’s doubles with Laville and the mixed with Lock, who has featured in our Player Profile series.
Coming to watch
Karen Mitchell of Pickleball England told The Bolton News the entry shows that “pickleball is growing day by day”, and encouraged anyone who has never seen the game to come and watch. The event is sponsored by Franklin, with supporting sponsorship from Proflex, Skechers, Pickleball Shop and the Bolton-based retailer SCAN. Spectator registration and full details are at pickleballengland.org.
Disclosure: The Pickleball Directory is attending and sponsoring the English Nationals.
