The inaugural Team Pickleball Store ‘Tournival’ brought Europe’s elite players, keen amateurs and competition debutants together last weekend in Southampton.
The event at Southampton Tennis Centre on 18-19 May attracted 300 participants, united by a love of pickleball and sharing use of 22 courts across a variety of age brackets and DUPR ratings.
“While we had some of the top players in the UK and Europe, we cannot forget all participants who turned up to compete and play, including many who were competing in their first-ever tournament,” said Lloyd Attrill, founder of the event sponsors Pickleball Store.
“It was inspiring to see newcomers stepping onto the court, eager to test their skills and gain experience – and seeing some familiar faces looking to advance through the brackets, challenging themselves with tougher pairings.
“We are absolutely overwhelmed by the success and the support we had from the pickleball community and cannot thank you enough.”
Players travelled from as far afield as Edinburgh for the ‘Tournival’ (a fusion of tournament and festival). James Chaudry, Britain’s only 6.0 DUPR-rated player, played men’s doubles and did plenty of meeting and greeting.
Also in attendance were Franklin Premier Pickleball League players such as Ed Hares, Emily Jelly, Ben Cawston (world no.1 rackets player), Hermione Baxter Chinery, Tom Turney (Pickleball Store’s first sponsored athlete), Mercedes Baxter Chinery, Katie Morris (HEAD Athlete), Tom Corfield (Selkirk Advocate), Julie Mac (top 50+ player) and Pickleball England’s Chris Mitchell (Europe’s top 60+ player).
The Pickleball Store pop-up at the event had hundreds of products on offer from top brands including Joola, Selkirk, Paddletek, Diadem, Franklin, Ronbus and HEAD.
Lloyd said the event, delivered in partnership with the pickleb.co.uk team, was the “first of hopefully many more to come.”
All photos: Reece Attrill Photography
