Marcia Audibert channelled her inner Olympian to strike gold at a record-breaking Skechers English OPEN.

Psychologist Audibert, 56, featured in the English Open at the Telford International Centre – the largest pickleball event taking place outside of North America.

With ages from 7 to 70+ competing, the event is reflective of the incredible growth in pickleball over recent years, with a record number of almost 2,000 players from 42 countries participating in a sport which has aspirations of making the Olympic programme.

Audibert and her husband-turned-playing-partner Bernie, 54, won every game en route to victory in the 4.5 35+ mixed doubles event.

“The final was really tough because they were really big hitters and I found it tough to keep hitting and hitting and moving fast, and I moved it like they were going to pound me,” said Brighton's Audibert.

“Fortunately, my partner, Bernie, took a lot of those balls and put some pressure on and put a lot of balls away.

“He’s been really, really gentle this tournament because when he gets really stressed, it makes me play worse, so this time he’s tried to be really positive and he’s done a great job, so it’s been fun because we’ve had some fiery ones!”

This year’s English OPEN comprised seven days of high-level competition, with the world’s top professionals from America, Europe and Asia taking to the court in singles, doubles, mixed, wheelchair and junior events.

A hybrid of tennis, badminton & table tennis, the sport’s popularity has been attributed to its accessibility. Easy to pick up and fun to play, the sport’s accessibility transcends demographics, providing it with universal appeal.

“The event has been amazing, it’s been really nice to come up here and have all these courts and all these people and all these different categories,” added Audibert.

“We were tennis players, our backs were hurt, and you can play this indoors: we were just at the gym and got hooked as you can play every day on the badminton courts.”

Pickleball England has announced a record number of players competing at this year’s English OPEN from the 8th-14th August at the Telford International Centre in the largest pickleball event taking place outside of the USA EVER – visit pickleballengland.org