The David Lloyd Club in Nine Mile Ride, Berkshire, hosted a quartet of European champions this week – marking the opening of purpose-built indoor pickleball courts at the venue, the first of their kind in the UK.
Thaddea Lock, James Chaudry, Louis Laville and Molly O’Donoghue – fresh from their win with Team England at the European Championship in Southampton – played exhibition matches and also spent time with the club’s keen players.
“We were blown away by the players choosing to visit us and play on our brand new courts,” said David O’Brien, the club’s lead member for pickleball and Berkshire’s county representative for Pickleball England – and just one of the keen players who are also embarking on coaching qualifications so that they can guide the scores of newcomers in the area who are picking up the sport.
“The quality of the play was amazing. Like all professional athletes, their skills were something the rest of us can only dream of.”
David himself started playing only in May 2022 – “Two and a half years ago, I’d never heard the word ‘pickleball’. David Lloyd decided to roll it out to all their clubs with badminton courts. I’d been playing tennis there, and a couple of people came to introduce us to pickleball – including Thaddea! We didn’t realise it at the time, but she was part of that team!
“My addiction is out of control now – I play seven, eight, nine times a week, and I’ve done my Level 1 coaching qualification.”
Local pickleball club Runnymede Royals, who play at Ascot and Lightwater, have grown from 140 members in 2022, to 375 today.
