Cumbrian pickleball player Maisie Wise struck gold twice at the 2023 English Nationals.

And the 23-year-old admitted the double success was well beyond her expectations.

Wise won gold in the mixed doubles alongside Luke Whitfield, and in the women's doubles with Michelle Wright.

The Cumbrian came through the Eden Valley Pickleball club run by her father Richard.

Maisie, who now lives in Basingstoke, said of her success at the national championships in Bolton: “It is amazing. Our final games were really close and tight, but also really nice and fun.

“We were able to have a good laugh and if someone makes a mistake it is not taken really seriously.

“I was not expecting to do so well. Only the top two went through from the group out of seven [in the mixed doubles] so we thought it would be really tough but we ended up winning all of our games."

Wise was first introduced to the sport eight years ago but it was not until the past few years that she began playing more competitively.

She believes the sport’s welcoming and accessible nature will help continue its path of rapidly growing popularity.

“It is amazing to see how much it is growing. I am hopefully about to start a new club in Reading, it is a big town to not have a club," she added.

“My dad runs Eden Valley Pickleball which has a lot of wheelchair players, so it is massively inclusive in terms of both sporting and physical abilities.

“It is just lovely that everyone can get involved. In the wheelchair event, there were grandads and grandsons playing together, and there is no other sport where you can do that really.”

Wise is the latest Cumbrian player to taste success at the Nationals, with Terry Smith from Annan, who plays in Carlisle, winning silver in the wheelchair event.

Gaz Golightly, from Carlisle, was also among the Cumbria-based competitors at the event.

They were among 682 athletes at the Bolton Arena in the rapidly growing sport.

Wise was an early adopter in the UK, having first picked up a paddle in 2015, but admitted it was not until helping out at the 2021 English Nationals that she truly fell in love with the sport.

“We discovered it in the village hall and my dad is really nosey so got us involved,” she added.

“We only played about once a month, ad hoc but then I went to university and took time off but when Covid hit we started playing again.

“That got me involved again and when I volunteered, that really re-sparked my love of the sport.

“I volunteered at the nationals two years ago, my dad plays and I came along to support him as a volunteer.

“I thought I would give it a go and I started playing properly and entered a few tournaments. Now I am playing in the Premier League.”

This year’s English Nationals is sponsored by Skechers, Franklin, Scan and UK Pickleball Shop. Head to https://www.pickleballengland.org/ to find out more or to find your nearest place to play.