One of the fastest growing sports in the UK has proved to be very popular in Brecon and its surrounding villages.

Pickleball is a racket sport that blends elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis and can be played on a badminton court.

With multiple sessions booked throughout the week, pickleball is fast becoming one of the most popular sports on the Freedom Leisure Brecon timetable.

Speaking about how it all began, Rob and Rhian Marshall who help run the sessions, told the Brecon & Radnor Express: “Originally back in February 2024, we played badminton here (Brecon leisure centre) and thought it would be nice if we could have a go at pickleball because we had seen it, like everybody else, on YouTube. So, we put a post on Facebook to see if anyone would like to have a go, and the badminton club bought a few paddles and on that session, more people turned up to play pickleball than badminton.

“We also started sessions at Llangynidr Village Hall as they have two badminton courts. It started with half a dozen of us, then eventually grew and grew. We play up there now three times a week and are oversubscribed now. We have 22 people on the books. Quite often we split it. We added another session and started playing Monday and Friday thinking that would ease the numbers but people started playing twice a week instead!”

A group in Llangorse has also stemmed from these sessions, and they are also said to be oversubscribed with players having only one court.

The group and leisure centre received funding from Sports Wales, and some of the members were asked if they would do a leaders certificate, so they could gain a qualification to teach beginners.

Rob explained: “Myself, Fiona and Anna did coaching at Sports Wales’ expense, and they paid for the equipment down here. Freedom Leisure Brecon incorporated this into their AAA 50 plus scheme, which they run in leisure centres and have referrals from the Exercise Referral Scheme, which sees people get referred because they need to get active some way, so Sport Wales and Freedom Leisure set up this session and us three coaches come along and try to get people into the sport.”

Some of the members recently took part and medalled at a tournament in Cwmbran. Rhian won silver at the open tournament but explained that they all still have a lot to learn about the sport. She said: “There are different styles of Pickleball. Traditional Pickleball is where you try and get to the net, and play gentle shots over the net, it’s like chess, you keep moving your opponent around until a point where they put the ball too high and then you can smash it down for the winner, whereas as ex-tennis players we are almost trying to win the point on every shot, so we have a bit of learning to do.”

They hope to see more pickle ball venues pop up in Wales and explained the benefits of the sport. Rob and Rhian said: “There’s not as much twisting and running as other racket sports, and it’s easier to play once you get the hang of it and more suitable for those perhaps a little less mobile and have come from tennis.

“It’s here to stay. I think the leisure centre here were a bit skeptical at first but they’re getting enquiries all the time now.”