I’ve been so busy that I have missed out on a full week because of travels and tournaments and more global growth. So for all those that have been following, I apologize that you’ve had to wait extra long for my new blog. I am writing this from the beach from Antaya, Turkey!
Last week I had a team competition in Kansas City and left the kids with Ryler in Panama City Beach to get the RV finished up and before they met me in Charlotte for our flight to London before Hurricane Debby would cause any havoc. The English Open powered by the APP was here!
Last year this was my favorite international tournament. It did not just mark my first tournament outside of the US, but it also marked the first tournament the kids ever played in. I remember Lily and JR being extremely nervous but even more of a memory was Ryler being the most nervous of us all on the sidelines pacing up and back. Same as last year my parents from Germany flew over to witness the English Open first-hand. Another repeat was Lily's fantastic gold medal in the junior event.
This year Karen Mitchell and her team had a record-breaking year with double the participants with over 2000 participants from around the globe gathering in Telford with 40 indoor courts. The competition was stronger and the excitement was as high as it was last year. Everyone was eager to be there and to be part of the global growth of our sport. Along with the European players, there were a lot of players from Australia and India as well and they showed up with power!
Competition started on Thursday with the battle of the paddles, which allowed paddle companies to be represented with various players, showcasing doubles and mixed doubles. We had the pleasure of representing Franklin. Ryler and I teamed up in mixed doubles to take home the title against The Owl in the final.
While I decided to step away from singles for this event to save my body for the many weeks of tournaments ahead, I was excited to watch some great competition from players I have not seen too much of yet, but there are various names to watch out for. Congratulations to Molly for winning the gold medal on her home soil. And big shout out to Ryler for bringing home silver in singles and congratulations to Max "Purple Jesus" for winning gold.
Susannah and I teamed up to reunite the FudgeBarr and took silver after a hard-fought semifinals against the Australian team. Congratulations to Allison and Kelsey on winning the gold medal after a long day of matches.
In mixed doubles Mint Fudge was in action as Jack Munro and I are calling ourselves. For anyone that does not know Jack yet, you better read up as this Junior Mint has been around the pickleball scene for a long time and he keeps getting better. He is a current student at the University of Texas and part of the Next Gen APP team. Jack and I were able to show off some lefty - righty skills on the court and take home a hard-fought gold medal against Allison and Eric in the final to finish out the weekend.
A unique-to-pickleball environment was Sunday night's gathering in the hotel lobby of all the international players together celebrating the great achievements at the English Open and sharing stories of our journeys in sport. I can’t imagine too many sports have this kind of camaraderie among competitors.
Monday was our day to pack up, sightsee Telford and Iron Bridge, one quick hike at the Wrekin and then off to drive to London to catch a flight to Turkey.
Now we get a week of vacation with my family on the beautiful beaches of Antaya before heading to Mumbai for another tournament.
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