Brits Louis Laville, Thaddea Lock and James Chaudry will represent Team Europe against Team USA at the inaugural APP Atlantic Cup later this month in Miami.
The historic event – pickleball’s version of the Ryder Cup – will be the first-ever international team competition in pickleball, with singles, doubles and mixed doubles competition.
International pickleball supremacy and the title of Atlantic Cup champions is on the line during the three-day competition on March 20, 22 and 24, which coincides with the 2024 Chase APP Miami Pickleball Open and the much-anticipated RacquetX convention being held at the same venue, the vast Miami Beach Convention Center.
The APP Atlantic Cup is officially endorsed by both the USA Pickleball and European Pickleball Federation governing bodies – the first such event in global professional pickleball.
Team Europe’s roster consists of Pialena Ander (Nyköping, Sweden), James Chaudry (London, UK), María Costantino (Malaga, Spain), Felix Grunert (Erlangen, Germany), Louis Laville (London, UK) and Thaddea Lock (London, UK). The team will be led by Laville and Lock as co-captains.
The 2024 Team USA roster includes Riley Bohnert (Louisville, Ky.), Alia Brown (Alpharetta, Ga.), Ava Kalist (Chambersburg, Pa.), Spencer Lanier (Newberg, Ore.), Richard Livornese (Ringoes, N.J.) and Jack Munro (Buda, Texas). Chad Edwards and Lee Whitwell will serve as coaches for Team USA, which also features four players as alternates: Jack Foster (Vero Beach, Fla.), Cameron Luhring (Parkersburg, Iowa), Kaden Seward (Joplin, Mo.) and Ivy Tschetter (White Bear Lake, Minn.).
“The European team is extremely excited to be heading to Miami to compete in pickleball’s first Atlantic Cup,” said Team Europe co-Captain Louis. “International team events have been hugely entertaining fixtures across different sports including golf, football, cricket and now pickleball. To captain Team Europe is an honour, and I will be playing and supporting my team as much as possible to help give us the inaugural victory. A huge thank you to APP for making this event happen; all six players on our team are raring to go.”
“I’m so excited to be part of a group of six great European players heading to the U.S. for the Atlantic Cup,” said Team Europe co-captain Thaddea Lock. “It’s an amazing opportunity for us to compete against some of the best players in the world. We are very grateful to the APP for setting up such a fantastic event and giving us this opportunity.”
APP Founder Ken Herrmann said: “We’re eagerly counting down the days until the APP Atlantic Cup, which marks a new milestone in pickleball history. Pickleball is a global game, and we’re bringing some of the sport’s best players from Europe to showcase their skills in Miami. The stage is set for an exciting competition between Team USA and Team Europe!”
USA coach Chad Edwards was bullish ahead of the contest, saying: “I’m looking forward to coaching Team USA in the Atlantic Cup and the opportunity to showcase America’s young up-and-coming talent against the best of Europe. We’ll be looking to outperform Team Europe in Miami.”
Tickets to the inaugural APP Atlantic Cup will include access to the 2024 Chase APP Miami Pickleball Open. More information about both events, including player registration and ticket details—are available at theapp.global
This event will have European players glued to the live stream! We will be rooting for our European team. As all the USA team came over to the English OPEN last year, we will be familiar with all the players which will make it even more exciting!