Bainbridge Cup was started in 2017 by the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) to meet the growing demand of organized international Pickleball competition among the member countries. It is the first intercontinental Pickleball event where the format consists of competition among teams representing different continents.
The first two editions saw Team North America and Team Europe participating with North America having the perfect win record. After Madrid in Spain and Montesilvano in Italy, this year Bainbridge Cup is headed to Essen in Germany. The TVN Tennis Centre is selected as the venue for this year’s tournament which is going to be held on July 12, 2019. It is one of the largest indoor Tennis halls in Europe and has 14 indoor Tennis courts which will be converted into 28 Pickleball courts.
The name of this intercontinental tournament- Bainbridge Cup- was chosen to pay tribute to the birthplace of Pickleball. It was on Bainbridge Island where Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum and Bill Bell formed this unique racquet sport. As the sport continues to expand around the globe more continental teams are expected to participate in the event to make it truly a global cup competition.
The day after the Bainbridge Cup competition there will be another international Pickleball competition- the German Open Pickleball Championships 2019 at the same location. This German Open will have the competition between North America and the Rest of the World. The Rest of the World has Team Asia that will be led by ace Indian Pickleball player Manish Rao. Team Asia will have players from India, China and Thailand. This is for the first time that Pickleball players from China will be participating in such a big international event.
Speaking about the preparation for the German Open 2019, Manish Rao explained, “Though the tournament is three months away, still we have started planning on our social media page. We have formed a group where we keep interacting regularly. Everyone has started practicing on their own courts. We will reach Essen on 10th of July and shall have two complete days to practice, plan, interact and bond with each other.”
