Fresh from his men’s and mixed doubles titles at this year’s English Nationals, Louis Laville was full of praise for his fellow players and the tournament as a whole.
Reflecting on a wonderful four days at the Bolton Arena, which saw almost 700 players descend on the north west for the biggest ever Nationals competition, Louis said: “I loved it! The level is getting better and better. It’s great!
“What’s so good is that there’s a high level of new players coming through.”
Louis highlighted a couple of players in the men’s draw in particular.
Firstly, Tom Turney, who played exceptionally well en route to finishing fourth in both the men’s singles and the men’s doubles; and just missing out on a place in the knockouts in the mixed doubles thanks to point differential.
And secondly, Ben Cawston, the world number one in racquets, who had a solid tournament, making it through to the quarter-finals in the men’s singles and doubles.
“He’s coming through, he’s only just started playing and he’s already a phenomenal player,” said Louis.
There was also high praise for some more familiar names including James Chaudry, and his mixed doubles partner Pei Chuan Kao, with whom he won gold on Sunday.
“Obviously, James played phenomenally well on Friday and dispatched everyone, with Freddie and I both losing to him. Sometimes you’re a bit disappointed when you come off the court after losing but not at all, he was absolutely amazing.”
“She’s an absolutely phenomenal player”, he said of Pei after the mixed doubles final. “She’s carried the team today, she’s been phenomenal of the right-hand side, her cross-court dinks were absolutely amazing.”
Finally, Louis shared some thoughts about the growth of the sport over the last couple of Nationals.
“In the first year it was held here, I was playing in the men’s final against James on the far court in the corner and there was a tiny little court with a few people watching on the balcony. Now this year, there’s 650 people actually playing in the event.
“It’s growing exponentially every year, I imagine there might be nearly a 1,000 players here next year, which is exciting to see, and obviously that means it’s going to be harder to win.”
With two gold medals under his belt after this weekend, few would back against Louis going on to add to his tally at next year’s English Nationals, even if the level of competition does continue to improve at such a rapid pace.
