By Milly McEvoy in Southampton
Anne Schumacher knows communication will be key as she and her partner prepare for the inaugural DUPR European Pickleball Championships.
The Luxembourg native plays alongside Nicole Sibenaler, who is deaf, and the friendly nature of pickleball means that Sibenaler has been welcomed into the sport.
The pair have enjoyed national and international success and will now go for gold at the first European Championships in Southampton.
“I think pickleball is a fun sport,” Schumacher said. “I’ve met lots of people in my country by playing it.
“I’ve been playing doubles with Nicole Sibenaler,we started in Luxembourg playing 3.0, then we played 3.5 then we won some tournaments in 3.5.
“We have played in 4.0 and we’ve played tournaments but haven’t managed to win but we are still enjoying it!
My partner is deaf, so we have had to work hard on communication. But what has been really nice to see is that many of our opponents have started to sign the score to her so she also manages to know the score.
“I knew her before pickleball, we have played together since playing doubles in squash and we have stayed together in pickleball.”
The 38-year-old from Uebersyren claimed two silver medals in last year’s Luxembourg Open, before climbing to the top of the podium at the national championships earlier this year.
She repeated the same feat alongside Sibenaler in the women’s doubles at the Cologne International in June.
For Schumacher, a chance to compete at the European Championships is an opportunity to have some fun.
She added: “In Luxembourg, pickleball has only been going for two years, there are about 250 people playing regularly.
“But there are now 2,500 people who have tried pickleball which is pretty good as we only have around 617,000 people in the country so that is quite a lot.
“For me and also the whole team, we feel very honoured to play here, we know that many of the other teams are going to be very strong.
“But for us it is about coming here, having fun and learning as much as we can.”
Find out more information about the European Pickleball Championships by visiting www.europeanpickleballfederation.org
