Joe Ringer managed an enjoyable experience at the Skechers English Open even though he’d had very little sleep before arriving at the Telford International Centre.

The 39-year-old was a late replacement in the 4.0 35+ mixed doubles after Tamara Parfitt’s partner dropped out, having kept up a couple of appointments the previous two nights he could not back out of.

Ringer took up the rapidly growing sport of pickleball nine months ago for the want of finding a hobby outside his job as a singer when he discovered the sport online.

While his girlfriend didn’t keep it up, Ringer persevered and now plays four or five times a week, with the English Open being his first serious tournament, although he sometimes has to fit his pickleball very tightly around his work schedule.

Norwich’s Ringer said: “This was quite a tournament to come to because I’m only filling in and I couldn’t believe it because I’ve had a mad one last night, so I’ve had about four hours’ sleep.

“I had a gig on Friday night on the Isle of Wight and then I drove back to Norwich for one last night before I drove up here, so it’s all fun and games.

“I run a band and we do weddings and events, so on Friday night we did an Ibiza orchestra which was run on the Isle of Wight and then we had a wedding back in Norwich.

“We do all sorts of weddings and events, theatre shows and cruises, and stuff, so that’s what I do as a real job and because I run it and everything, I’m more of a business owner than just a singer.”

The 2024 English Open was the largest pickleball event to take place outside of North America, with a record number of almost 2,000 players from 42 countries participating.

Over 30,000 people around the United Kingdom now play the sport and there are over 700 places in which to play, with pickleball displaying an exponential growth in recent years.

Ringer said: “I couldn’t believe it when I got here and to see all these people in a sort of ‘underground’ or very young sport doing so well is amazing.

“The thing is it’s only going to grow, I think, and that’s due to the accessibility around the sport in that anybody can pick up a paddle and play it and have fun.

“Obviously, with how it’s worked, you play against people of your own standard and you go up together, and people of all ages can do it.

“You don’t have to have a huge amount of athletic ability to be able to play good, fun games and there are 80-year-olds who come and play right down to kids, so it’s really inclusive for everyone.”

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