Tessa Bruins starred in an historic week for pickleball at a record-breaking Skechers English OPEN.

Chartered accountant Bruins, 41, featured in the English Open at the Telford International Centre – the largest pickleball event taking place outside of North America.

With ages from 7 to 70+ competing, the event is reflective of the incredible growth in pickleball over recent years, with a record number of almost 2,000 players from 42 countries participating in a sport which has aspirations of making the Olympic programme.

“This is my first English Open and it’s been awesome, you can see the camaraderie and see everybody coming together, and you’re always playing against good competition,” said South Africa-born and Finchley-based Bruins.

“Everybody is super friendly and it’s a very well organised event, taking into account the amount of people involved.

“I wasn’t expecting to see this many people here, but everybody is obviously loving it.

“I’m from South Africa initially and there are quite a few South Africans involved, so it’s great to see the sport is making its way around the globe.

“Pickleball has definitely grown, even in the last year when I started and we’ve managed to get more people playing together at the local club – we’re definitely infiltrating our cricket team and anybody that will talk to us!”

This year’s English OPEN comprised seven days of high-level competition, with the world’s top professionals from America, Europe and Asia taking to the court in singles, doubles, mixed, wheelchair and junior events.

A hybrid of tennis, badminton & table tennis, the sport’s popularity has been attributed to its accessibility. Easy to pick up and fun to play, the sport’s accessibility transcends demographics, providing it with universal appeal.

“I got into pickleball about a year ago, just at the local centre down the road,” added Bruins.

“I have a tennis background, so it’s quite conducive to picking up pickleball and I’ve loved it.”

Pickleball England has announced a record number of players competing at this year’s English OPEN from the 8th-14th August at the Telford International Centre in the largest pickleball event taking place outside of the USA EVER – visit pickleballengland.org