When Nia Owen first found out about pickleball, she thought it was strictly for senior citizens only.
“My friend had started playing pickleball with Môn Active [a public health and fitness initiative in Anglesey] and I assumed it was an over 60s thing,” she says. “I subsequently found out it was for all ages so in January 2024 I gave it a go and caught the bug straight away! Having played a bit of tennis and brilliant tuition from Jan Milburn, I joined another two clubs in which I played two to three times a week.”
Nia already knew Non Smith – but didn’t know she also played pickleball.
“We caught up on Jan’s Monday and Friday sessions and played a bit together during recreational play,” explains Nia.
The two decided to enter competitions as a doubles pairing, and won silver in the 18+ 3.0 women’s doubles at this year’s Welsh Nationals: “Nia, as lovely as she is, agreed to step down in age [category], so we could play together!” says Non.
Indeed, Nia added another medal to that, winning gold with Carwyn Meredith in the 40+ 3.0 mixed doubles.
“We did play exceptionally well in the Nationals,” reflects Non. “In the semi-final we had a very very very tough game, where we were 8-14 down against a very strong Emily [Williams] and Faye [Harwood], given that we were playing to 15.
“Nia has this way of just pulling you up, pulling you along. She’s got an amazing focused mind, very competitive, which is great because I’m not all that competitive, quite easygoing, so when she’s there, telling you, ‘One more point! Come on, one more point!’ we get the ninth point, we build on that and eventually by hook or by crook, a very tough game, we came back to win 16-14, but Emily and Faye gave us a really hard run for our money.”
Despite that success, the two had no expectations when they headed to the Liverpool Summer Tournament at the end of July, and came out as champions – without losing a single game.
“Both of us are very tough on ourselves,” admits Non. “We don’t have this huge ego. We don’t have this huge expectation of where we should be, where we’re at. We just both enjoy it. We absolutely love playing the game.”
So next stop for the two is Telford, where once again Nia will be playing down an age category to partner Non.
“Obviously I’m a bit nervous for Telford, still being a novice,” says Nia, “but so excited to see where I am in the sport that gives so much in many different aspects – health, fitness, camaraderie and most importantly fun!”
“We love playing together, and hopefully we’ll do well in Telford,” says Non. “We are also partnering for the Welsh Open in Cardiff – so hopefully we can build on what we did in the Nationals.”
