Whakatāne’s Tracy Whitley has returned from the PPA pickleball tournament in Wellington with silver and gold medals.

The tournament was held in Wellington on June 11, attracting 272 professional and amateur players from Australia and New Zealand.

Whitley, a member of the Whakatāne Pickleball Club, entered the women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

In women’s doubles, she partnered with Katarina Snaft from Gisborne, who she met at an earlier tournament.

Despite it being the first time they had played together, they won their pool, defeating three teams to progress to the semifinals.

“After winning our semifinal, we advanced to the gold medal match where we faced the tournament’s top-seeded Auckland pair, Whitley said.

“We were thrilled to finish with the silver medal after a hard-fought final.”

In the mixed doubles, she teamed up with Jason Fernando from Tauranga, who she had not previously met.

“It was also our first time playing together and we won five consecutive matches and went on to claim the gold medal.”

With pickleball one of the fastest-growing sports in New Zealand, she said it was exciting to represent the region and bring home both a silver and a gold medal.

Whitley started playing pickleball about two years ago, having played a bit of tennis many years ago as a teenager.,” she said.

“I turned up to a club night and accidently got addicted,” she said. “I just can’t get enough of it.”

She said it had reached the point where her husband joked about being a pickleball widower.

Although she has entered the singles category at one past tournament, she said she much preferred doubles or mixed doubles, where the level of fitness required was not as high.

She has upcoming team tournaments in Levin and Rotorua and is also looking forward to the New Zealand Open in September, where she has entered six categories.