London’s Louis Laville is dreaming of representing his country after gold at the 2024 Skechers English Nationals.
Laville ranks as one of the nation’s premier pickleball professionals and is in contention to represent England at the inaugural European Pickleball Championships in Southampton later this month.
After winning men’s doubles gold alongside James Chaudry at the record-breaking national championships in Bolton, Laville has put himself in pole position to be selected.
“It would be really good to be selected,” Laville said as he also won mixed doubles bronze.
“It’s always an honour to play for your country.
“I want the team to be the best team physically possible so all the winners at the nationals should be in selection and it should be a good, well-attended event, especially with it being in Southampton.
“You always want the strongest players from each country attending which is what it’s all about.”
Pickleball is a racket sport which sees players compete using paddles and a perforated plastic ball.
The sport gets its name from its American founders, with the family game created in 1965 and named after their pet dog Pickle.
Played indoors and outdoors, it is a fast-growing sport across England and can be played by all ages and abilities, even on the same court.
Taking place from Thursday 31 October to Sunday 3 November at Bolton Arena, the English Nationals comprised four days of high-level competition, with a record number of 1,111 pickleball players competing in the North West.
He added: “It’s great to see how busy it’s getting. It’s doubled from last year and it’s only going to continue to grow more and more. It’s going to be a lot of fun and we’ll see how it goes.
“I think especially in the UK, we just want more facilities now. The numbers are there to back it up, we just need facilities for people to play more regularly and not have to book a badminton or tennis court and have their own pickleball court and that’s where it’s going to go.
“The sport is getting bigger and bigger and events like this will only give it the opportunity to continue to do so.”
Pickleball England has announced a record number of over 1,000 players competing at the 2024 Skechers English Nationals. The tournament takes place from the 31st October – 3rd November at Bolton Arena and is the second largest national pickleball event. For more information, visit www.pickleballengland.org
Featured Image Credit: Pickleball England/Paul Currie
