(From left) Racketlon men's world champion Leon Griffiths of UK playing badminton and squash.; Racketlon women's World No 2 Anna-Klara Ahlmer of Sweden, playing TT and tennis
Leon Griffiths remembers the out-of-tune but joyous strains of ‘Happy Birthday’ at his sports club reaching his ears, while he spent his own big days shuffling from badminton’s honey-brown teak courts to tennis’ grass ones, as a racquet-sports obsessed introvert.
This weekend, as the Londoner was crowned champion at Racketlon’s World Tour Finals at the leafy Willingdon Sports Club in Mumbai, all those hours spent with just the thwack of a shuttle or ting of a ping pong or distinct click of finding the nick in squash, for company, seemed worth the silence. Racketlon involves four back to back games of TT, badminton, squash and tennis (in order of progressive higher racquet weight), played to 21 points each with 3-minute transitions. Leon, who won the World title beating brother Luke this August, wrapped up a fine 2025 for himself with the season-ending triple titles in India – including singles and mixed.
Racketlon is an extremely niche activity, needing top-tier facilities across all four racquet disciplines as pros hop from one court to next. Leon’s father played tennis, and badminton, his strong suit, came from his mother. His first World title at U13s however happened quite out of the blue. “Dad had a Swedish girlfriend earlier and we travelled to Stockholm on a whim along with my Uncle. I was entered in the U13 World’s at the last minute, and won the title,” he recalls.
Racketlon men’s world champion Leon Griffiths of UK playing badminton and squash.
While he plays badminton at a fairly high level, the challenges to master all four sports can range from the short transition time to lugging around jelly feet in tennis so soon after squash has brutally inundated calves with lactic acid. “If you get into the TT groove because of the pace, you end up hitting shuttle late in badminton,” he laughs.
Racketlon: The Ultimate Four-Sport Challenge
Back-to-back battles across table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis
1
Table Tennis
21
Points
2
Badminton
21
Points
3
Squash
21
Points
4
Tennis
21
Points
3 Minutes
Transition time between each sport
The Physical & Technical Challenges
🦵
Squash brutally loads calves with lactic acid before tennis
⚡
TT pace throws off badminton timing - hitting shuttle late
🎯
Mastering four distinct techniques - took Leon 2 years
♟️
"Fitness chess" - positional tactics across varying court sizes
14-20 hrs
Weekly training split across four sports for elite players
While the sport that started in Scandinavian countries in 70s, hasn’t attracted top names of individual sport, it’s a genuine outlet for the likes of women’s World No 1 Anna-Klara Ahlmer of Sweden, who grew up in Gothenburg. “I started with tennis, played squash one day because the courts weren’t free and got started in the sport where it was me and 25 guys! I found Racketlon when I was starting to bore of tennis, and it was fun to improve in other 3. I’d have quit sport if I hadn’t branched out because pro tennis gets monotonous. Racketlon was a second wind,” she says.
French woman Pauline Cave would win the Women’s title. For Leon, it took him 2 years to get really comfortable with all different techniques of all four sports. “Technical skills are transferable really,” he says.
Those like Dutch World doubles champ Koen Hageraats, are TT specialists, while a lot of Danes come from badminton. “All these sports have a common thread – positional tactics, playing fast points and finding opponents’ weakness. It’s fitness chess,” Leon laughs. Over the weekend, Mumbai’s 85-year-old journalist Rahul Singh became the sport’s oldest player.
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Racketlon women’s World No 2 Anna-Klara Ahlmer of Sweden, playing TT and tennis
Training can span 14-20 hours a week split between 4 sports for the top names, though building Racketlon’s identity almost sees many players not tune into watching individual events like Tennis Grand Slams or All England. “We play so much ourselves, I don’t watch a massive amount of sport. I’m really tall, like 6’4″ so I know I can’t play like Lee Chong Wei or Lin Dan or copy their style. Maybe Axelsen,” Leon jokes. “I watch football instead.”
Racketlon faced a bit-crisis when it started losing players to paddle briefly. “But paddle is really very simple, and too ‘easy’. Our players started returning because they craved the real intensity,” Leon ends.
Shivani Naik is a senior sports journalist and Assistant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball.
Professional Profile
Role: Assistant Editor and Columnist at The Indian Express.
Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics.
Writing Style: Her work is characterized by "technical storytelling"—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides "long reads" that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium.
Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025)
Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond:
Indian Badminton's "Hulks": She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized by power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style.
PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her "sparkle" and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps.
The "Group of Death": In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals.
Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of "backhand deception" in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas.
Legacy and History: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing historical context to current Indian successes.
Notable Recent Articles
BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025)
The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025)
Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025)
Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025)
Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025)
Other Sports Interests
Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith's dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts.
You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. ... Read More
Racketlon men’s world champion Leon Griffiths of UK playing badminton and squash.
Racketlon women’s World No 2 Anna-Klara Ahlmer of Sweden, playing TT and tennis
