Max "Purple Jesus" Manthou Highlights a Group of Victorious Americans at the 2024 English Open
The English Open wrapped up this weekend in the United Kingdom, with its largest number of players to date. Nearly 2,000 participants from 42 countries participated over the last week as pickleball continues its explosive growth worldwide.
Statistics show nearly 30,000 citizens play pickleball in the U.K., and there are hundreds of places to play the game. I would estimate that pickleball is probably 3-5 years behind the U.S. in terms of rate of growth and depth of talent at the professional level.
Here are the results and takeaways from this year's English Open:
Women’s Singles
- 🥇 Mollie Knaggs
- 🥈Alexa Schull
- 🥉Pei-Chuan Kao
Knaggs is a British player who has only been playing pickleball for a year, and she was able to beat American Alexa Schull. Pei-Chuan Kao - also a British player - earned a bronze medal. She is also the team captain for Sea Surge in MLP Australia.
Men’s Singles
- 🥇 Max "Purple Jesus" Manthou
- 🥈 Ryler DeHeart
- 🥉 William Sobek
Manthou is not the tallest player on tour, but he is extremely quick and has great ground strokes and hands. He gets his nickname from his college days at the University of Washington, where he played D-I tennis – they are the Huskies and purple is their primary color.
Manthou recently published his Master’s Thesis while attending Illinois State University. It is titled, "Non-Zero Sum Sport: Pickleball and the Theory of Coopetition."
He plans on publishing a book very soon titled Pickleball: The Gospel. Fitting for a guy named "Purple Jesus."
Mixed Doubles
- 🥇 Megan Fudge/Jack Munro
- 🥈 Allison Harris/Erik Lange
- 🥉 Lauren Mercado/Spencer Lanier
Jason Flamm
Fudge continues to play ambassador for the sport of pickleball and keeps playing at a high level. Jack Munro is one of the young players on the rise in the United States and continues to put up results. Lauren Mercado and Spencer Lanier are both part of the APP Next Gen National Team, and even though they are young, they continue rising through the ranks.
Women’s Doubles
- 🥇 Allison Harris/Kelsey Grambeau
- 🥈 Megan Fudge/Susannah Barr
- 🥉 Thaddea Lock/Pei-Chuan Kao
The team of Barr and Fudge is back! The duo spent the majority of 2023 playing together on the APP Tour and they teamed up in England for a silver medal. Allison Harris and Kelsey Grambeau were able to pull off the upset win for the gold medal.
Kao earned her second medal of the event and shows why British pickleball is on the rise along with fellow Brit teammate, Thaddea Lock.
The Dink Media Team
Men’s Doubles
- 🥇 Erik Lange/Max "Purple Jesus" Manthou
- 🥈 Richard Livornese, Jr/Jack Munro
- 🥉 Harsh Mehta/Armaan Bhatia
The four Americans on this list have been playing good pickleball all year on the APP Tour. I want to highlight the bronze medalists, Harsh Mehta and Armaan Bhatia. Harsh and Armaan are both from India and have been making a name for themselves recently in MLP Australia. Harsh is going to play for the Northern Crocs and Armaan plays for the Eastern Rush.
If the English Open proved anything, it's that the future of pickleball is bright in the U.K. and around the world.
