Georgie Girt channelled her inner Olympian to strike gold at a record-breaking Skechers English OPEN.

Research scientist Girt, 33, 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.

Girt and playing partner Thalia Rodrigues avenged their group-stage defeat to Fiona Hughes and Cassandra Mooney with a nail-biting 12-10, 11-9 victory in the women’s doubles 4.0 18+ final.

“I was playing rounders at work and I met someone on my team who’s a long-term pickleball player,” said Abingdon's Girt.

“They asked me if I wanted to have a go and I thought: ‘OK, that sounds pretty silly, not like a real sport, but I’ll give it a go and see what happens.’

“I instantly loved it and I’ve never looked back, and that was about a year and a half ago.

“I came here last year, which was my first proper tournament, and this one is bigger, it’s double the size.”

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.

“It’s great to come here and be able to watch the pros play on the show court,” added Girt.

“It can be really good to go and watch them, see what they’re doing and try to relay it into your own game, which can be really helpful.

“It’s just amazing and coming back a second year, you’ve met people from the first year, you’ve met people from across the time you’ve been playing, so it’s really nice for the social aspect as well.”

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