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

Maths and music teacher Faherty, 27, 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.

“My neighbours play the sport and they actually have a court in their back garden, so they introduced me to it about a year and a half ago and as soon as I picked up a paddle I was just hooked,” said Laois’ Faherty.

“I came from a badminton background and just haven’t looked back since picking up a paddle.

“You need good footwork and to be fast on your feet, especially in singles when you get up to the net.

“If your footwork isn’t good, you’ll struggle with that and overheads are definitely my favourite shot, so I know it’s good once the ball goes up.”

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’ve played in the Belgian Open before and this is my second English Open – I’ve come up a category and it’s really been going well,” added Faherty.

“I would say it’s on a bigger scale to last year, definitely more people and the event is being run over for a much longer timescale.”

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