Even sports fans who have never watched pickleball before might recognise one of Surrey Smash’s draft picks for the 2025 Premier Pickleball League.
Olympic medallist, world champion and former world No 1 in badminton, not to mention MBE, Gail Emms’ trajectory in pickleball has been sharp.
She first came across pickleball when she was playing badminton with her eldest son, and heard an inimitable noise from a neighbouring court.
“You think you know most sports, and I’ve obviously seen reports of pickleball,” she says.
They opted to put the badminton racquets down and give pickleball a try, despite not knowing the rules, and they were quickly joined by others who fancied trying it out.
“It was so funny. We were just smacking the hell out of it, and we had such a laugh.”
Gail describes herself as “intrigued” by pickleball at that point, and delighted that she could play the game on a badminton court – somewhere with which she is very familiar – rather than have to travel to a specialist facility. After a few months of playing recreationally, she started to enter tournaments, and now she is “doing this properly”.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, that’s for sure, because, honestly, like, yes, I’ve got a racquets background, but it’s not pickleball. I think the people who’ve got the tennis background have got an easier transition. So for me, it’s been a little bit like I’ve got to unlearn a lot of stuff, which is not easy when you’ve been playing badminton your whole life, and then suddenly you’ve got to just completely change – [I’m used to] shuttlecocks, not balls, so it’s completely different how they move.”
Perhaps her move into pickleball was inevitable. As she says, just because someone stops playing elite sport, it doesn’t mean that the part of them that pushed them to compete at the top has suddenly disappeared. With golf, cycling and triathlon not filling that gap, and masters badminton not quite working for her, pickleball was the best fit.
And now she’ll be in the 2025 Premier Pickleball League, much to her surprise – she was hoping to be picked for the Challenger event, but instead Surrey Smash drafted her for the Premier competition. Although she plays down her chances of winning on court, she hopes to bring more success to the team thanks to her expertise in elite sport and her day job of sports promotion.
“We’re all about the community. We’re about growing the sport. We’re about coaching, ambassadors for the sport,” she says.
“My part isn’t just about being on that court. It’s about supporting us to grow something very, very special. They’ve taken a massive risk on me.
“I am training as much as I can for them. I really want to make sure people realise that I’m not just, ‘Oh, I’m playing pickleball, look at me!’ It’s not about that. I’m too old for that. If I’m going to do something, I’ll do it right.”
She says she is both excited and nervous about heading into the PPL.
“I’m excited to see how it’s all going to work, how it’s all going to play out. But, yes, I’m apprehensive because, obviously, I know my level, and I know I will improve.
“I’m hoping people go, ‘Your learning curve has been great!'”
