In August 2025, a team of pickleball players from Ukraine took part for the first time in the English Open — one of the world’s largest pickleball tournaments (2,300 participants, 40 countries).
Our team included players in wheelchairs, with prosthetics, and in standard categories. This was not only a sporting but also a historic achievement — at the request of the Ukrainian Pickleball Federation, for the first time in the history of such tournaments, a separate category for players with prosthetics was introduced!
Ukrainian veterans and players with disabilities played 12 matches in the “wheelchair” category and 12 matches in the “prosthetics” category, demonstrating strength of spirit and a high level of preparation.
Thanks to the Ukrainian initiative, the championship introduced for the first time a category for players with prosthetics — another contribution of Ukraine to the development of international pickleball.
Leonid Yashchenko
Hennadii Alaverdian
Volodymyr Svirskyi, President of the Federation and ambassador of pickleball in Ukraine
in singles
the doubles Tetiana Svintsova and Tetiana Sorokina
the doubles Ivan Zahorodnii and Volodymyr Svirskyi
The warm welcome organized by Pickleball England, the support of coaches James, Coco, and Pepe, along with the presence of Ukrainian fans in the stands, created an environment where sport became not only competition but also a symbol of unity, recovery, and mutual respect.
