OPEN WOMEN ' S SINGLES 50 +: PIALENA ANDER, GOLD; AMANDA EVANS, SILVER; AND ANTONELLA SONDA, BRONZE.
OPEN WOMEN ' S DOUBLES: SHELBY BATES AND ROOS VAN REEK, GOLD.
DAVID HUGHES IS THE NATIONAL LEAD ON ADAPTIVE AND INCLUSIVE PICKLEBALL, WHICH INCLUDES WHEELCHAIR AND PARA- ATHLETES. HUGHES ALSO WORKS WITH PLAYERS WHO HAVE PARKINSON’ S DISEASE, AS WELL AS ALZHEIMER’ S AND OTHER FORMS OF DEMENTIA. HE FINDS PICKLEBALL ACCESSIBLE AND THE PLAYERS FRIENDLY. PHOTO BY ALICE TYM. and women’ s doubles for older age groups before moving into mixed doubles, wheelchair and para events.
To advance the intergenerational aspect of pickleball, organizers added the Unity Cup team competition, bringing players of different ages and ratings together.
Players were given a lovely red or blue scarf indicating which team they were on and a schedule for six matches. Each player was assigned a partner of a different age, man or woman, and different abilities.
Some matches were played with wooden paddles. New friends were made. Referees joined in. Players played all day.
Swiss player Tom Holliger, who plays tournaments all over Europe, was still going strong late in the afternoon. The Unity Cup was a huge success.
Singles competition and further doubles events then led toward the closing stages of the tournament. More than 100 volunteers were posted at stations every few courts to manage the draws and get players onto the proper court.
The professional competition produced a series of high-level finals.
Spain’ s Ignasi De Rueda captured the men’ s singles title, while Croatia’ s Domenika Turkovic won the women’ s singles championship. In men’ s doubles, Richard Livornese and Jack Munro took the gold medal, while Shelby Bates and Roos van Reek won in women’ s doubles. Munro and van Reek also teamed up successfully in mixed doubles, giving each player two titles during the tournament.
For Pickleball England, the tournament represented another significant milestone in a remarkable rise. When the English
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SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2026 | MAGAZINE 47