One Year Ago We Were Visitors. This Year We Have a Stand: Third Shot at the English OPEN 2026

Some dates end up mattering more than you realise at the time.

In August 2025, we walked into the English OPEN as spectators. Third Shot was exactly one week old. The website had barely gone live, the first samples had only just arrived, and it was the first time either of us had worn anything with the logo on it in public. Nobody knew who we were — and honestly, we half expected someone to ask why we were wearing a brand that didn't exist yet.

Twelve months later, we're going back. This time with a stand.

From 11–16 August 2026, Third Shot will be exhibiting at the English OPEN Pickleball Tournament at the NEC in Birmingham — and if you're anywhere near the Midlands that week, you should come and find us.

What Is the English OPEN 2026?

If you follow pickleball in the UK, you already know this is the big one. The English OPEN is the largest pickleball tournament outside the USA, and 2026 is its biggest edition yet:

• Dates: Tuesday 11 – Sunday 16 August 2026
• Venue: NEC Campus, Birmingham — the tournament's first year at the UK's largest exhibition venue
• Scale: around 60 indoor courts built across multiple interconnected halls, making it the largest indoor pickleball event in the world
• Players: 3,000+ player registrations from around the globe, up from 2,350 players from 45 countries in 2025
• Events: 120 brackets across six days — juniors, wheelchair and para events, age groups from 15+ to 80+, and pro draws competing for a $50,000 prize pool

Since launching in 2019, the OPEN has grown more than sevenfold. Watching that growth up close over the past year is a big part of why we started Third Shot in the first place. Pickleball in the UK isn't a curiosity anymore — it's a proper sporting community, and it deserves proper kit.

Spectator tickets are available through the NEC website, and the Vendor Village — where you'll find us — sits alongside the courts, so you can watch world-class pickleball and browse between matches.

Where the Name Comes From

If you're new to the sport: the third shot is the moment a pickleball point really begins. Serve, return, and then the shot that decides whether you charge the net or reset the point. It's the shot that separates people who hit the ball from people who play the game.

That felt like the right name for what we're building — premium court-to-street pickleball and padel apparel, designed in Sheffield, made for people who take the game seriously but don't want to look like a walking sponsorship board off the court.

What We're Bringing to the NEC

Our stand will carry the full current range, so you can actually feel the fabrics and try things on rather than guessing sizes from a screen:

• Courtwear — performance tops and shorts built for match play
• Headwear — including the Acapulco Cap range
• Bags and accessories — court rucksacks and our Court & Culture totes
• Womens and mens ranges across courtwear and casual pieces

We'll both be on the stand all week. Come and say hello, tell us what you'd want from a UK pickleball brand, or just tell us your best tournament story. The conversations we had walking around as visitors last year genuinely shaped what Third Shot became — we're not exaggerating when we say some of the products on the stand exist because of things people said to us at the 2025 OPEN.

Why This One Means Something

Plenty of brands do event recaps. This isn't that.

Last year we stood in a crowd wearing week-old samples, wondering if anyone would ever care about a pickleball apparel brand from Yorkshire. This year our kit is stocked in shops, worn by sponsored players, and shipped all over the UK — and we get to set up a stand at the biggest indoor pickleball event in the world, a year to the week since it all started.

If you're at the English OPEN 2026, come and find the Third Shot stand in the Vendor Village. First stop after your first match. We'll be the ones grinning like it's still week one.

FAQ

When and where is the English OPEN Pickleball 2026? The English OPEN 2026 runs from 11–16 August 2026 at the NEC Campus in Birmingham — the tournament's first year at the venue, with around 60 indoor courts across multiple halls.

Can I attend the English OPEN as a spectator? Yes. Spectator tickets are sold via the NEC website, and the event is open to anyone who wants to watch top-level pickleball or explore the Vendor Village.

Where can I find Third Shot at the English OPEN 2026? We'll be exhibiting in the Vendor Village throughout the tournament, 11–16 August, with our full range of pickleball and padel apparel available to try and buy.

Can I buy Third Shot pickleball clothing if I'm not at the event? Absolutely — our full range of UK-designed pickleball and padel apparel is available at thirdshot.uk, with free UK shipping over £75.