Ray Puttick was one of two British medallists in the recent US Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida – winning silver in the men’s 65+ 3.5 category. He re-lives his unforgettable trip with Pickleball 52.
Pb52: What made you wish to experience the largest pickleball tournament in the world?
Ray: I thought that having achieved reasonable results in the age and skill level groups at the 2023 English Open and English Nationals that it would be an ideal time to experience the best players in the world at the largest tournament in the world. I put in my name for three events in the US Open Lottery in January 2024 and was lucky enough to be selected for all three.
Then came the difficult part of organising such a major trip to a place I had never before visited! My wife and I organised to stay in Cape Canaveral for the first week, then on to the tournament in Naples, and finally a recovery five days in Clearwater.
What practice were you able to have before the tournament?
The local pickleball centre at Cape Canaveral was brilliant, encouraging me to join in any of their daily morning sessions. This was particularly important given that I had never played outdoors before and had had to cope with neither the sun and wind conditions, nor outdoor courts. I managed to have three mornings with the players there during our first week, playing in several higher-level games and not feeling totally outclassed. They were so welcoming and enjoyed playing against someone from over the pond.
What was the format for the tournament?
At registration, players (or ‘athletes’ as we were regarded) received a goodie bag consisting of coolbag, programme, US Open tee shirt, athlete’s lanyard and a number of promotional flyers. The Saturday morning was for familiarisation, visiting the Zing Zang show court, and acquainting oneself with the conditions. These were usually windy with temperatures from 20c to 30c+ depending on the time of day.
I was able to find practice games with players rated higher than myself which were challenging but enjoyable. One of the players before the match asked my level and at the 3.5 grade reply turned his eyes to the sky. Pleasingly, during the match, he was surprised that I was more than able to hold my own against 4.0 rated players, an encouraging start.
The actual events were on a knockout basis, best of three games to 11. If you were eliminated from the main draw you went into an elimination draw where you played for the bronze medal in a one game to 15 format. This did mean you always had the minimum of three games to play even if knocked out at the first hurdle, and still had a chance to win a medal.
What was your first event?
The following day, my first match was at 12.30 in the heat of the day, a qualifier for the quarter-finals of the men’s age and skill 3.5 level singles. I probably met the weakest player in the draw which proved useful to calm the nerves and establish a tactical routine for singles play, being used to only doubles in the UK.
In the quarter-final there was a much harder challenge, a 6″4′ gangly player with the reach of an albatross, and fast around the court. After an initial set-back early in the match, I managed to scrape a victory over two sets with some strong backhand play down the line. Into the semi-final and it was now 2pm and even hotter than before. I managed to up my game and recorded a good victory but at a high cost, a twisted right knee.
This injury hampered my play significantly in the final and I eventually lost 11-3 11-9 to a very good player but secured a silver medal. The officials at the medal presentation were amazed at the result, saying that there are many American players who have attended for several years and had never gained a medal.
How did the injury effect your next events?
It was good to have two days away from the tournament to recover and I took many rest periods and medication to enable play in the men’s doubles on the Wednesday. Play on your non-event days was not possible as the 60 courts were all in use for tournament play. With 3,500 players over many events this was not surprising but a little disappointing that practice courts were not available.
Tell us about the men’s doubles
A high-level player from the Bristol area, Paul Chard, and I both entered for the events in the US Open lottery, although I did have to drop an age group as Paul was a few years younger. We did manage a couple of practice games on the Saturday, but had not been able to play in the UK prior to our arrival in Florida. It was therefore a difficult task to play against seasoned pairings in the men’s doubles age and skill 3.5 level event. Out of 18 teams we managed to progress to the quarter-final stage in both the main draw and the elimination draw but were knocked out of both.
We finished with a very respectable seventh ranking out of 18 pairings, with which was both positive and disappointing that we could not have progressed further.
Your final event was the mixed doubles?
This was much more difficult, with my original partner withdrawing just days before the tournament and a replacement filling at the last minute. We managed one practice session the day before and were happy with our play considering the circumstances. Sherry was a lovely player and we got on well on court so were quite positive about our opportunity in the event.
Once again, we managed to play through the rounds to reach the quarter-final stage where we were knocked out by the eventual winners. They went on to win the final 11-1 and 11-0 and all thought that they were sand baggers – players who were rated higher than the 3.5 level but played down for the medals. Given that we lost to them 11-7 11-4, achieving half of the points they conceded in the whole tournament I did think with a different draw we could have gone further, but that is tournament play for you, some luck is always needed!
Are there any other positives about the tournament?
It was so nice to be able to see the top professionals playing on the outside courts, seeing how their movement, speed and anticipation combined to enable some fantastic points. I watched a number of the top players before our mixed doubles event and learned a lot from their play. I was also lucky enough to be passing Anna Leigh Waters (world no.1) on the footway prior to her match and she agreed to have a selfie with me, one photo for the album!
I would certainly recommend experiencing the event once in your pickleball career, as it is the highlight of the large Open tournaments. Would I go back next year? Probably not. It was a trip of a lifetime. Sometimes it is best to only go the once and keep the great memories of the visit to our cousins over the water.
Read more about Ray Puttick here.
