Pickleball star hopes for long career in the sport

Thaddea Lock is the UK's only full-time pickleball player

A pickleball star from Somerset has said the sport's accessibility is one of the main reasons she took up playing.

Thaddea Lock, originally from West Somerset, is one of the highest ranked players in the country, and discovered the sport while coaching tennis in the US in 2018.

She became the first and only full time pickleball player in the UK, and most recently picked up a silver medal at the English championships last month.

Ms Lock said she hopes to have a career in the sport long into her 60s and 70s, thanks to the sport's accessibility.

Speaking to BBC Radio Somerset's Claire Carter on Extra Time, Ms Lock explained how coaching British player Katie Swan led her unexpectedly into pickleball.

"Her mum had said to me, 'when you come [to the US] we'll have to get you to play pickleball, we have a friend that plays and she's great,'" she said.

"I played three or four times... and when I was leaving they said I should keep playing pickleball when I go home.

"I came home and Googled places to play... and I found a club."

She added the tennis world can often feel lonely and isolating, and can be prohibitively expensive for those outside the top 50 players.

Thaddea Lock bagged silver at the English championships in May

Ms Lock said the community she had found in pickleball was unlike anything she had experienced before.

"I found a new sport where I can learn and get better, and that's what's so special about pickleball.

"You can play at any age... I can have a whole career in pickleball for the rest of my life."