The Northumberland Club held a Racketlon tournament on Saturday 2nd November as a part of the sport’s ongoing UK tour.

Racketlon is a multi-racket sport where players compete against each other in four separate sports in order, starting with table tennis, then badminton, squash and tennis. Each sport is played for a set of 21 points, with whoever has the most overall points at the end of the four sports winning the match.

Kieran Shelley, UK Racketlon tour officer, told JesmondLocal: “It’s great fun, and it gives players a lot of chances to play racket sports that they’ve probably never played before”. He added: “The Northumberland Club is also a great venue to host the Racketlon Super Series”.

Peter Barton, who was competing in the event, said: “it’s fabulous in terms of the sports, and what really pulled us in was the community side of it”.

Entry fees for the tournament were set at £35 for adults and £20 for juniors, each guaranteeing a minimum of three hours of court time.

Players competing in the tournament said fitness was the key to success when playing Racketlon. The high-intensity sports of squash and tennis require high levels of stamina – and only account for half the playing time.

The UK Racketlon 2024 tour has been ongoing since February, where the first tournament took place in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.

Each of these tournaments increase a player’s overall rating for the Super Series, which either moves them up or down in the ranking system depending on their performances.

Jonny Ritter, who is currently 4th out of 135 in the UK men’s rankings, told JesmondLocal: “I hope to be selected for the World Championships next year”.

The European Racketlon Union recently announced that Istanbul is officially applying to host the World Championships next year. Their post said: “For the first time ever, the Racketlon World Championships may be hosted outside of Europe, in the Asian part of this magnificent metropolis”.

To participate in the World Championships requires a self-funded journey to get to the location, due to Racketlon currently being classed as an amateur sport. Six-time Racketlon world champion, Jo Shelley, said: “it’s not a cheap sport unfortunately, so I always say that I work to fund my Racketlon”.

Shelley, the UK tour officer, said he had “seen a growth in the sport over the last 10 years”. Racketlon used to primarily have European teams competing in the World Championships, however countries from around the world such as India, Hong Kong and South Africa are now beginning to compete as the sport grows in popularity.