Halifax pickleball player Tracey Povey served-up two significant tournament victories on the bounce by scooping English and Welsh titles in a lucrative two-week period.

Povey, who started her pickleball journey in 2023, when she joined Heaton Tennis and Squash Club, in Bradford, secured her first victory in the English Open Pickleball Championships, the most prestigious tournament in the UK, and the world’s largest indoor tournament, held at the NEC in Birmingham.

The event attracted 3,400 players from across 56 countries and Povey joined forces with Isabel Kay, from Richmond Pickleball Club, to compete in the over-65 pairs category.

The women had played together only a few times and despite this being their first English Open, the Yorkshire pair were impressive from the start, winning all their group matches and earning a bye in the first knockout round. A convincing 15-0 win in the quarter-final was followed by a tougher semi-final contest but they came through 15-11.

Tracey Povey, right, and Isabel Kay, left, celebrate their Welsh title.

placeholder image — Tracey Povey, right, and Isabel Kay, left, celebrate their Welsh title.

The final was played as a best of three games and although Povey and Kay fell behind 10-6 during the early stages of the first game they battled back to win 13-11. They pressed home their advantage in the second game, winning it 11-6, to secure the title.

Povey and Kay continued their winning form into the Welsh Open Championships, in Wrexham, where they played in the over-60s age category.

They were playing in a very challenging group during the initial stage of the competition, but used their experience at the English Open to help them win five out of their six games, finishing second in the group and qualifying for the semi-finals where they met a pair unbeaten in their group games.

Again, the Yorkshire women started strongly in the semi-final and managed to stay ahead throughout, eventually winning 15-10.

Their final was the best of three games against the pair that had beaten them in the group stage. Povey and Kay took control early in the first game, winning 11-6, and although the second game was much closer, they again came out on top 11-9 to secure a second gold medal in only two weeks.

Povey wasn’t finished there and the following day she paired with her husband Phil in the over-60s mixed doubles.

The group stage was challenging and two wins from four games meant they needed to win their final group game, against the top seeded pair, to progress, but they rose to the occasion and dominated the game to win 11-2.

A 15-7 success in their quarter-final was followed by a 15-11 victory in the last four but the final was one step too far and their opponents took control of the match to win 11-8, 11-4.