More than 2,000 set to compete at Pickleball Open

Michael de Groot is Pickleball England's West Midlands regional director

More than 2,000 pickleball players will arrive in Shropshire shortly for a major competition.

The English Open will be held at Telford's International Centre for the third time, from 6 to 10 August.

Last year's competition ran for seven days but Pickleball England said the schedule was "tough" on volunteers, so made the decision to streamline this year's event over five days, but with longer hours.

Pickleball is a mash-up of tennis, badminton and ping-pong and can be played by singles or in pairs, either indoors or outside.

"When registration opened, we were amazed to receive over 1,400 entries in just four hours," the sports body said.

"Some events filled up immediately.

"With 2,348 players from 41 countries, we're proud to host our biggest tournament yet."

Taking place across 40 courts, players range from under 12s to 70+.

There is a prize money pool of £30,000 across all of its open events, some of which will be live-streamed.