Dalbeattie wheelchair tennis player becomes Scottish pickleball champ

Dalbeattie wheelchair tennis player Keith Thom became Scottish champion at the weekend – in a different sport.

Keith took part in the Scottish Pickleball Championships which were held at the National Badminton Centre in Scotstoun, Glasgow.

Pickeball is described as a cross between tennis, table tennis and badminton and has had more than five million participants in the last 12 months alone. It can be played indoors or outdoors and played on a badminton size court.

This was the first time wheelchair players had taken part in the championships and they were teamed up with able bodied players in a round-robin mixed doubles.

The wheelchair competition created a lot of interest and was played in front of a large crowd on centre court. Keith partnered Nanette Mutrie from Glasgow who took the game up after a successful international squash career. Keith himself had only spent six hours on court playing the game leading up to the championships so had the least experience by far. Despite this Keith and his partner won all their games to take the gold medal in this inaugural category.

Keith found this a great experience which was streamed live on YouTube throughout the day and now hopes that wheelchair categories will be included in future internationals.