Credit to Gerhart Nel for the wonderful photographs. 

Racketlon World Championships 2026 – some thoughts and reports!

Matilda Parslow, GB Captain of Selectors, reports:

Once again, GB tops the medal table for the elite open and age categories. Although we were closely contested by the French, GB held on in multiple categories to once again show that we are the leading Racketlon nation. 

Gold medals in the inaugural +70s team championship and Satellite Cup (open division 4), GB retains its incredible status of having won every single seniors and open category possible at the World Team Championships over the years. Just wow!

I would like to quickly say a huge thank you to the other members of the selection committee, Jack Bishop and Peter Barton, for all their hard work leading up to the event. I would also like to thank every captain who has taken on the (difficult, and sometimes stressful!) responsibility of organising their team and deciding the lineups. Well done! Finally, thank you to everyone who has supported the players, come out to watch, and generally made the racketlon community a wonderful thing to be part of. 

Instead of a straightforward review of all the winners and categories, of which there are many, (check out our social media for all of the podium photos!) we present a variety of thoughts and reports from across the GB racketlon community. 

Tylor Li, GB U14 singles silver medallist, reports on his week at the Racketlon World Championships:

I walked off the court in Rotterdam with a silver medal hanging around my neck, and honestly, it still feels a bit surreal. I even joked I wanted to sleep with the medal because I honestly couldn’t have dreamed of this before the tournament started. Last year I was down in 17th place in U14, and since I’m only turning 13 this month, playing against kids who are not just older, but much taller than me made the whole thing feel pretty crazy.

People always say Racketlon is the ultimate test, and they aren’t wrong. You can’t just be good at one thing. If you spend all your time practicing just one sport, the other three will catch you out. It’s this brutal mix where you go from having lightning-fast reflexes at the table tennis table to exploding around the badminton court, and then straight into the lung-burning, suffocating nightmare of squash. By the time you finally step onto the tennis court, your legs are completely dead. Trying to switch your brain, your grip, and your muscle memory between four totally different rackets while you’re completely exhausted is the hardest part of the whole thing.

The absolute toughest part of the week for me was the U14 semifinal against Karl Robert Toomjõe from Estonia, who had just beaten the current British U14 Champion. It was the tightest match ever (21-23, 24-22, 21-17, 18-12,with a win of +10). I narrowly dropped the table tennis 21-23, and then my string broke right in the middle of badminton. After changing my racket, I managed to fight back and win 24-22. Squash was the massive turning point because he had crushed me 21-6 the night before (in the U16 draw, in a match I lost), so I had to completely change my strategy. I played really well, and just after the middle break at 11, while leading a close game, I took a brutal fall and banged up my knee and hip. Some people in the crowd were yelling at me to just quit, but I pushed through the pain, won the squash set, and held my nerve in tennis to secure the overall win. 

My luck appeared to end in the U12 World Singles final where I played Baptiste Pothier from France, the defending silver medalist for U12 last year. He is extremely talented at table tennis, completely wiping me out 21-3. Perhaps I could have achieved a few more points in badminton if not for my leg but no. He was very good and congratulations to him on a well deserved gold medal.

All year it’s been non-stop grinding. I’ve been running between different clubs, doing double sessions, and trying to build enough stamina just to survive the draw. To have all that split-training actually pay off on the world stage feels pretty awesome. If this week taught me anything, it’s that when you get knocked down, you just have to get right back up and never give up. Playing against guys way taller than me proved that you just have to believe in yourself—because short people can win too.

Now that I’ve tasted silver, my focus has completely shifted. The training for gold next year starts right now!

Parent Perspective: Jim Fontanelli, dad of 3 racketlon junior superstars (and player in his own right!) tells us about what being a racketlon parent feels like…

Being a racketlon parent has certain requirements. You need to have a deep and abiding love of sports halls. If they are humid and slightly smelly, all the better. You need to know where the nearest source of bananas is at any time of the day in any location in any country. You need to be able to survive on an entirely carbohydrate based diet (possibly for days on end). You need to be able to show some level of interest in interminable discussions around strings and rubbers. You need to be able to deal with stress levels that are materially higher watching a game than if you were playing. You need to explain that always going into squash and tennis down is how proper racketlon should be played. You need to be able to restrain yourself from calling in the GB racketlon rendition team to deal with the Frenchman with the megaphone. And if you can clone yourself to watch three matches playing at the same time then you can avoid a sticky conversation about who is your favourite child. 

But if you can tick those boxes the payoff is huge. The term “racketlon family” absolutely rings true. Mutual support through the trials, tribulations and successes of competitive sport. It starts with explanations about what the hell is going on – four sports against the same person? It progresses through the more obscure; gummi arm – some medical complication from carrying a bag with too many racquets in it? But it ends with seeing your child being absorbed into a broader community that is always welcoming. There is the direct community – familiar faces, encouraging nods, a quiet word on some point of technique or strategy, louder support as the stakes become bigger. But there is also the indirect community, as you find friends in sports you otherwise would not have given time to – for us that has been table tennis and finding a local club that has become a central part of our week, which would never have happened without racketlon. 

On the junior side there is also seeing the kids grow up  – catching up a few times a year at tournaments and the progression through the various age categories marking out important transitions in the outside world, with GCSEs, A-levels, university and beyond. It also seems to be some weird side effect of racketlon that the kids – whilst fiercely competitive – all seem to get along really well once the final point has been played, a trait which extends to the international competitions and results in a broad network of like-minded kids across a swathe of countries who meet up and catch up in random cities dictated by the FIR. 

Then there are the Teams events at the World Champs and getting a chance to play individual sports with your peers as part of a team for your country – the highlight of the year and an opportunity that motivates practise through the dreary winter months. Bringing together multiple racquet sports in one event gives a chance for a sports-mad junior to extend skills beyond their favourite sport – making the most of your strengths as well as working on your weaknesses. There are levels for everyone and starting out is easy – just pitch up to a tournament and if in doubt talk to the nearest person and soon enough you and your child will be absorbed into a niche, but fast-growing sport that offers a lifetime of competition, from the U12’s to the 70+ category – just about enough time to figure out badminton!

Senior report from Keith Lesser, captain of the +45 team, as he reports on their route to victory!

GB retained the +45 Team World Championship title, with stalwarts Peter Barton and Jon Foulds joined by “youngsters” Ray Jordan, Keith Lesser, Alice Flatman and debutant Gavin Stephenson — and what a signing he proved to be!

The team event followed a gruelling eight singles matches, and the first team tie against France looked like a particularly tough ask. Two of their players were unknown surprises who had reached the singles semi-finals just days earlier. Benoit Pothier had knocked out the much-fancied Dane Anders Fyrst across three sports, losing only in squash, while Hervé Tixier, who went on to take bronze, had beaten not only the Czech number three seed Rostislav Kniezek — including a scary 21–12 win in tennis — but also our own Gav.

Gav got his revenge in the team event, securing an important table tennis victory before winning heavily in squash. Ray Jordan and Jon Foulds couldn’t quite overcome the power of Benoit and Guicherd, although they did secure a hugely important squash set. 

Lesser had defeated Yves Bret +36 in the singles quarter-final before tennis, but the team match-up was much more evenly balanced. Fortunately for GB, Cassier was competing in the +40 category for the team event, making the +45 team’s chances slightly easier. Cassier had also narrowly defeated Ray Jordan in the +45s singles quarter-final, with the match going all the way to 18–18 in tennis.

On the women’s side, Alice Flatman had taken silver and bronze in the +40 and +45 singles respectively, narrowly missing out on repeating her gold from last year. However, she was determined to make amends in the team event. Against Stéphanie Bret, Alice won the first three sports and ultimately secured the gold medal for GB.

After overcoming France, GB made relatively light work of Germany and India. By this stage, however, the inevitable toll of the tournament was starting to show, with some sore muscles throughout the team, and, in the case of Mr Foulds, a very sore back! Peter Barton stepped up against India to carry us comfortably over the line.

Then came the Netherlands and, with the gold medal within touching distance, it was party time!

Flatman once again faced a tough match against Dutch opponent Kirsten Kaptein, while Stephenson continued to prove exactly why his debut signing had been such a good one. He systematically dismantled former elite player Alwin Krist across three sports, including Alwin’s strongest discipline, squash.

Lesser then had to dig deep against tour favourite Guus van der Burgt, winning the first three sports and producing some immense squash in the process.

It was a hard-fought journey, with France providing a formidable early challenge and plenty of hurdles along the way. But the GB +45 team overcame them all to successfully defend their World Championship title – back-to-back gold for the +45s!