What attracted you to racket sports as a kid?

"When I was younger [I was a] typical five-year-old kid going to [try] every sport possible. Tennis is quite local to me, literally down the road so my parents [got] me into that because it was local, and I literally fell in love with it more than anything else. So, I stuck with it."

Why did you decide to transition to pickleball from tennis last year?

"It’s a bit of a weird one. After Covid, I feel like I just stopped competing in tennis because it can become a bit toxic in a way. From a young age I was competing so much to the point that I felt like I lost a love for it."

"My coach went to America to play [tennis] and go on holiday, and she found the sport [pickleball] over there."

"She brought it back and was like ‘Oh my god, you should play pickleball’. I was thinking ‘I don’t know what pickleball is’. She introduced it to me; we built courts at a local club, and I fell in love with it ever since I played it."

What is your favourite aspect of pickleball?

"I think it’s the first proper sport that people of any ability and any age can play together. It could be a sixty-year-old woman or man playing an eight-year-old."

"Parents and children can play together. You don’t really see that anywhere else. There’s even a category for deaf people in the ‘English Open’ now. It’s great!"

How has Mollie Knaggs, gold medal winner at the English Open, helped you develop at the ‘Spicy Pickleball Academy’?

"It’s quite insane because she started off [helping] me from a very young age from playing tennis."

"We already had that bond from the start. I feel like because I had somebody so positive from when I played tennis, I didn’t really have to go to anybody else to learn pickleball."

"I constantly rewatch her matches, she’s very inspiring. She’s done so much it’s unbelievable."

Since joining the academy you’ve played in many competitions in the UK, which competition has been the standout for you so far?

"I think the English Open was definitely an eye opener, for definite. I felt like I could see my ability and where I am. It wasn’t the highest level of competition, but I’d just started. I didn’t want to enter the highest level in the English Open and knock my confidence out the window. I started off at the ‘3.0’ which is the lowest section [at the open] but because it is the English Open it’s not necessarily going to be low. There’s still European players coming over to play. I went in there with quite a positive mindset and somehow won the whole thing in my first competition."

How has the programme ‘Fempickle’, which Mollie Knaggs runs, helped you in your career as a pickleball player?

"There’s not many girls getting into pickleball so it’s very hard to find women’s partners and the women’s game is not really there at the moment. Mollie created this massive event. The first one [session] we had eighty ladies turn up and had a really good time! There was no pressure. Everyone was hyping each other up. It encouraged me to keep going, play my game no matter if a guy says I hit the ball too hard or anything. It was amazing."

What are your main goals in your career as a pickle ball player?

"I have to try to keep my head high because I feel like I’m at a stage where I’m one [level] away from the Open where pro players play."

"I feel I need to just need to focus on my own game and not feel like I need to impress anybody else."