After a promising debut in Bolton, Blue Bee PKB headed to Tunbridge Wells for Weekend 2 of the Premier Pickleball League with one goal in mind: get that first team win on the board.
That’s exactly what they did.
It was a brilliant weekend for the squad a convincing 4-2 victory over Thaddea Lock Pickleball, followed by an incredibly tight battle against Pickleball Escapes that eventually finished 4-2 to the opposition. The results mean Blue Bee PKB leave Tunbridge Wells with their first Premier Pickleball League team victory, and plenty of positives to carry into Weekend 3.
The squad travelled to Tunbridge Wells without Jayne, who has unfortunately been sidelined with an elbow injury that required surgery. Jayne was part of the original six-player squad that made its competitive debut in Bolton alongside Jack, Niall, Linda, Romeo and Kirsty.
She’ll now focus on her recovery, with the hope of being back on court towards the end of the year. Everyone at Blue Bee is wishing her a speedy recovery we know she’ll be itching to get a paddle back in her hand as soon as possible.
Blue Bee PKB couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day. Niall set the tone with a superb performance in the men’s singles, getting the team off to the start they needed, and Linda followed that up by taking the women’s singles to put Blue Bee firmly in control of the fixture.
There was plenty happening behind the scenes too. Jack had put a lot of thought into the team selection and playing schedule with six individual matches making up each team fixture. Getting the combinations right and deciding where best to use each player can make a huge difference, and his selections paid off. After coming so close in several matches during Weekend 1, this was a big moment for the whole squad.
The second fixture, against Pickleball Escapes, was far closer than the eventual scoreline suggests. At 2-2, everything was still to play for, and one marathon game that finished 30-28 to Blue Bee PKB summed up just how tight the margins are in competitive pickleball.
Pickleball Escapes ultimately took the remaining matches to secure a 4-2 victory, but this certainly wasn’t a defeat taken lying down by Blue Bee PKB.
Compared with Weekend 1 in Bolton, where Blue Bee PKB were still learning how to operate as a team under competitive conditions, Tunbridge Wells showed just how quickly the squad is developing. In Bolton, the team had already shown they could compete closely despite the scorelines; this time, they converted that competitiveness into their first overall victory.
There could only be one choice for Blue Bee PKB’s Player of the Day: Linda. From securing the first match win through to her performances across both fixtures, Linda produced a fantastic day of pickleball and played a huge part in getting Blue Bee PKB’s first team victory over the line a thoroughly deserved Player of the Day.
Weekend 1 was about getting the team together. Weekend 2 was about showing what this group can actually do. A first team victory, two strong singles performances to open the day, a second fixture that stayed on a knife edge at 2-2, and another weekend of valuable experience against some excellent players in the Challenger division the progress is there for everyone to see.
There’s still plenty of pickleball to come, but Blue Bee PKB are very much up and running.
WEEKEND 2 RESULTS
Blue Bee PKB 4-2 Thaddea Lock Pickleball
Blue Bee PKB 2-4 Pickleball Escapes
