Over 1,000 players are set to compete in Bolton at the 2024 Pickleball English Nationals next week in an annual increase of 61% as the sport's popularity continues to soar.

Running from Thursday 31st October to Sunday 3rd November at Bolton Arena, the Pickleball English Nationals will see a record number of 1,111 pickleball players putting their talents on show in the North West.

The tournament is set to be doubles-only - a decision made to allow as many players as possible to compete.

Mixed Doubles, Men’s & Women’s Doubles, Junior and Wheelchair Doubles events are all scheduled to take place across the four days of competition. A wide range of age groups will be taking part, with players aged between 10 and 83 set to take to the court.

Pickleball is a hybrid of badminton, table tennis & tennis first played in 1965, with an estimated 35,000 people currently playing the sport nationwide.

Karen Mitchell, Chair and Co-Founding Director of Pickleball England said: “The massive growth we’ve seen in pickleball over the last 12 months has meant we now have a record number of 1,111 players heading to Bolton to compete in this year’s English Nationals.

"We have some of the top players from a number of different age categories competing on court, so it’s set to be an exciting few days.

“We’re hoping the English Nationals will inspire more people to try the sport we all love and we’d encourage anyone to come down and watch if they’ve never seen pickleball played before. We want to showcase the best of our sport in the North West."

Fans can find more information on the tournament schedule at https://www.pickleballengland.org/