In the Langhe, a UNESCO World Heritage wine landscape in northern Italy known for its truffles, food and wine, a pickleball tour for amateur players is building towards its finale. The Pickle Love Tour sends teams to host destinations chosen for their appeal as places to visit, and every stage feeds into the Final Master in Bra. Its last qualifying stage is now coming to the UK.
The tour holds that stage at Courtside in Stourbridge on 24 October. It runs at the same time as the Buenos Aires stage, and together they decide the last teams to reach the Final Master, where around 200 players from Europe and beyond are expected.
It is the tour’s only UK stage this year, which gives UK amateurs a way into a European final on home soil. Tour founder Lucia Ugge, who has played in four editions of the English Open, described English pickleball as an example and an inspiration for the rest of Europe. In Italy, she said, the sport is far behind the UK because there are not enough courts.
Each team has two men and two women. Every match has three sets: a men’s doubles, a women’s doubles and a mixed doubles set played by all four players, who swap midway through. Ugge took the format from the Italian Pickleball Tour, where team events proved popular. “This makes it really fun because a team might be losing, only for their teammates to make a comeback,” she said.
The tour is aimed mainly at amateurs, although there is an Open category where the level of play stays very high. “We created the Pickle Love Tour with the goal of offering amateur players a professional-level tournament experience,” Ugge said. The first stages offered prize money, and every stage offered two-night stays at a four-star hotel and free entry to the Final Master, supported by sponsors connected to the tourism sector of the Langhe region, where the tour began.
Ugge said the organisers chose Courtside because it is open to international events and active in running tournaments. “The team is incredibly welcoming and is helping us make sure this is a fantastic experience for all players,” she said.
Ugge does not rule out more UK stops next year, possibly at other facilities. She said every venue that has hosted a stage has already asked for a second edition in 2027.
The Stourbridge stage takes place at Courtside on 24 October.
