Stage 3 of the PEAK European Pickleball League landed in Hampshire over the weekend, and with over 200 entrants became the most popular stage of the tour so far.
The English Masters was the third stage of the 2023/24 European Pickleball League, in an eight-stage tour that will eventually see the 32 top ranked players in each category descend on Porto in Portugal for the final.
The next event is not due to take place until May 2024, so this was the last chance for some time for players to boost their rankings as they look ahead to the final stage in just over a year.
As the only stage to be hosted in the UK, there was plenty of British representation and a fair bit of British success over the course of the weekend, with seven of the eight available gold medals going to players who featured in last month’s English Nationals.
Day one of the competition saw Thaddea Lock win the women’s singles title at the first time of asking after not featuring in either of the previous stages. She saw off Karina Ranz, runner-up in the singles at the second stage in Elche, to claim top spot here.
Meanwhile on the men’s side, Theo Platel took top spot, beating Vicente Lopez in the final. Tom Turney took home the bronze, and was the best performing Brit in the draw.
Day two was gendered doubles, which saw British success across the board. Louis Laville and James Chaudry, after facing each other in the final of the men’s doubles at the Nationals this time teamed up to defeat Loren Varndell and Anakin Owen in the final of the men’s bracket and claim the gold.
In the women’s draw, Thaddea and Pei Chuan Kao took home the gold medal, with Pei claiming her third win in the European Pickleball League after winning the women’s and mixed doubles at stage one in Porto. They beat Sara Chumillas and Jess Wilson in the final.
And on day three, Louis and Pei secured another win as a mixed doubles pair, following on from their stage one win in Porto and their national title secured last month at Bolton, defeating Theo Platel and Evie Kenna in the final.
This marked Pei’s fourth gold of the season so far, and a remarkable sixth for Louis, who looks to have all but booked his place in next year’s final with less than half of the seven stages played so far.
The European Pickleball League will next stop in Madrid, in May 2024, so the rankings will remain frozen for some time, but with tournaments coming thick and fast following the Madrid stage, it is sure to be an exciting end to the 2023/24 season over the second half of next year.
