Pickleball Pros! Pickleball, a sport inspired by a brined cucumber, has rapidly gained worldwide popularity in recent years thanks to dedicated and passionate professional players. These pickleball pro players have inspired countless people to grab a paddle and step onto the courts. Beyond just skills, these players exemplify the heart and soul of the game that draws crowds to watch them play.
Top 6 Pickleball Pro players in the world | The Game Changers
Some outstanding pickleball players play professionally. They are called pickleball pro players. Their superb skill and love of the game helps pickleball become more and more popular. Here are some of the best pickleball pro players:
Brandon French
Brandon French lives in Dallas, TX. He was born on September 22, 1991, making him 31 years old currently. Brandon became a professional pickleball player in 2019 at the age of 28. He stands at 6’2″ tall and plays right-handed. Brandon discovered pickleball while playing tennis recreationally as a child when his parents introduced him to the sport. His dedication and passion for pickleball led him to become a top pro player today.
Catherine Parenteau
Catherine Parenteau is from Naples, Florida, and was born on August 26, 1994, making her 28 years old. She turned pro in pickleball in 2016. Catherine is 5’5″ tall and plays right-handed. She started playing tennis at the age of 4 and excelled at the sport for many years. In 2016, her coach introduced her to pickleball, which she fell in love with. Her skills translated well, and today, Catherine is a renowned professional pickleball player.
DJ Young
DJ Young lives in Dripping Springs, Texas, and was born on April 6, 2000, making him 22 years old currently. In 2021, at age 21, he turned professional in pickleball. DJ is 6’2″ tall and plays right-handed. He discovered pickleball in 2018 and has been playing competitively since. His flexibility and strategic skills have led him to win major tournaments, including the PPA silver medal in men’s doubles.
Allyce Jones
Allyce Jones was born on October 25, 1987, in Pleasant Grove, Utah, making her 35 years old. She went pro in pickleball in 2021. Allyce is 5’2″ tall and plays right-handed. In high school, she was a two-time tennis state champion and volleyball state MVP. She started playing pickleball during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now ranked top 20 nationally in women’s singles and doubles.
Ben Johns
Ben Johns lives in Austin, Texas, and was born on March 18, 1999, making him 23 years old. He turned professional in pickleball in 2016 at just 17 years old. Ben is 6’0″ tall and plays right-handed. He has won over 80 PPA titles and more triple crowns than any other male player. At just 23, he is one of the youngest players on the PPA tour.
Chuck Taylor
Chuck Taylor resides in Lehi, Utah, and was born on June 16, 1983, making him 39 years old. He went pro in pickleball in 2015. Chuck is 6’2″ tall and plays right-handed. He has over 20 years of experience playing pickleball. Chuck is sponsored by JOOLA and played his first PPA tournament with his new sponsored paddle at the Desert Ridge tournament.
How to become the pickleball pro player | Dominate the game
Pickleball, like other sports played in the world, has several pro players, and many people are striving to mark their name among the professionals of their respective games. If you want to become the pickleball pro player in the world and watch your dreams come true, the following are the ways you must follow to become the pickleball pro player of your own goals:
- Passion for the game
- Know the details of the game
- Start learning at a young age
- Stay fit and take a healthy diet
- Exercise daily
- Work on your tactical awareness
- Recover from any injuries
- Practice regularly
- Be consistent and patient
- Record yourself while playing
- Be socially active and maintain a good attitude
- Select your coach carefully
- Play against players better than you
- Participate in tournaments and competitions
- Analyze your Pickleball rating
Passion for Pickleball
Having a true passion for pickleball is essential to becoming a pro. The drive and motivation needed to put in long hours perfecting your game can only come from a genuine love of the sport. Immerse yourself in the pickleball community, watch videos, read books, and surround yourself with others who share your enthusiasm. Let your passion fuel your training and dedication to becoming the best.
Know the details of the game
Mastering the intricate details of pickleball is critical. Study the rules exhaustively until you know them inside and out. Analyze tournament play to understand strategies for singles, doubles, offensive and defensive play. Know the dimensions of the court, paddle and ball specifications, scoring intricacies, and all the nuances that make pickleball unique. Knowledge is power, so comprehensively understand every facet of the game.
Start learning at a young age
The earlier you start playing pickleball, the more time you have to hone your skills. Many pros began playing in their early teens or even younger. Look for youth pickleball leagues and camps. Convince your school to start a pickleball program. The more years you devote to learning the Pickleball Rules and perfecting fundamentals like serving volleying groundstrokes, and footwork, the better prepared you’ll be for high-level competition. Time invested now in developing abilities will pay off greatly down the road.
Stay fit and take a healthy diet
Maintaining excellent fitness and eating a nutrient-rich diet provides the energy and stamina demanded by competitive pickleball. Commit to strength training, cardio conditioning, flexibility exercises, and cross-training activities like yoga or swimming.
Fuel your body with lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. Proper nutrition and exercise will boost endurance, prevent injury, and support quick recovery.
Exercise daily
Daily exercise maintains and improves pickleball-specific skills. Even 30 minutes a day of drills like serving, volleying against a wall, or solo groundstroke rallies ingrains proper technique. Additionally, physical activity keeps the body primed and prevents skill decline during time off the court. Make fitness a habit, not just during intense training cycles. Exercising every day preserves gains and ensures you’re always competition-ready.
Work on your tactical awareness
Developing excellent tactical awareness and court savvy is essential for aspiring pros. Analyze your play as well as your opponents to detect strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies. Know when to play more aggressively versus defensively. Master shot selection, angle creation, and other strategies to outmaneuver challengers. Tennis great Billie Jean King famously said, “Pressure is a privilege” – learn to thrive tactically in high-stakes games.
Recover from any injuries
Inevitably, in such a physically demanding sport, injuries will occur. Rest and recovery should be taken very seriously to heal correctly and avoid re-aggravation. Adhere strictly to any medical advice and rehab protocols. Use the recovery period to study film stills and mentally train. Return to play cautiously; don’t jeopardize long-term health to resume competing prematurely. Patience during recovery will pay off by getting you back to top form safely.
Practice Regularly
Consistent, focused practice is paramount. Set a regular training schedule and stick to it diligently. Work on sharpening skills, expanding your repertoire of shots, and replicating high-pressure game situations. Analyze and tweak your technique. Spar against players better than yourself to elevate your level. Even pros spend hours honing their game daily. Make practice a habit and watch your abilities skyrocket. pickleball practice will help you a lot.
Be consistent and patient
Progress toward a pro level will take time to happen. There will be setbacks and plateaus along the way. Persistence through difficulties and patiently mastering skills is critical. Remain persistent and determined to keep improving bit by bit. Sustain your consistency with both training and composure during matches. Maintain faith in your abilities even when frustrated. Patiently putting in the work day after day will drive you toward your goals.
Record yourself while playing
Filming yourself during practice and tournaments provides invaluable feedback. Review the video to detect areas needing improvement you may miss in real-time. Watch footage frame by frame if needed to analyze your positioning, footwork, stroke mechanics, and other skills. Please share the video with coaches to get their expert eye. Being able to examine your play visually accelerates development faster than playing alone.
Be socially active and maintain a good attitude
The pickleball community is tight-knit, so make developing friendships a priority. Support and cheer on fellow players. Have good sportsmanship, whether you win or lose. Keep a positive attitude even amid setbacks. How you conduct yourself on and off the court impacts your reputation. Being known as a gracious, encouraging player earns respect and opportunities. Cultivate meaningful connections in the pickleball world.
Select your coach carefully
Seeking guidance from the right coach gives you an invaluable edge. Research to find an experienced instructor aligned with your goals, learning style, and personality. Ask trusted players for referrals. Interview potential coaches before committing. Be clear about your aspirations and areas needing work. With focused coaching customized to your needs, your skills will rapidly improve under their expert tutelage.
Play against players better than you
Pushing yourself by competing against more advanced opponents accelerates your skills. Better players force you to elevate every aspect of your game. Learn from each point lost. Observe and adopt their winning strategies. Losing these challenging games teaches you more than winning easily. Regularly seek out and face higher caliber players to take your abilities to the next level.
Participate in tournaments and competitions
Enter tournaments early and often to gain experience in competitive environments. Play as many events as possible, even lower-level ones, to start. Managing nerves, making tactical adjustments mid-match, and competing under pressure are skills unto themselves. Success requires learning to thrive in tournament play. Use losses as motivation to train harder. Eventually, with enough exposure, you will gain the confidence and poise needed to excel.
Analyze your Pickleball Rating
Monitoring your ranking and ratings helps benchmark your improvement over time. Set goals to reach the next skill level. Work diligently to address problem areas dragging your rating down. Compare your rating trajectory to top pros to stay on pace with their development. Let ratings affirm your progress, but don’t become obsessed over them. Consistently reach for the next rating milestone as you steadily climb the ladder toward professional play.
UTPR (USA Pickleball Tournament Player Ratings)
UTPR system is based on the player’s previous official performance in USAPA-sanctioned tournaments. It has a range from 0.000 – 6.999. The pickleball pro players have a rating level of 6.000 or more.
DUPR (Dreamland Universal Pickleball Ratings)
Steve Kuhn, the owner of Dreamland devised this pickleball player rating. The DUPR ratings lie between 2.000-8.000.
It is a modern system of ratings in which players self-report their losses and wins after the match only when the opposite player verifies. You will get the ratings even if you have not participated in any official tournament.
Pickleball Equipments| Pickleball Paddles that pickleball pro players are using
A paddle that feels comfortable yet provides power and control is critical for professional play. The top pros carefully select paddles suited to their playing style and preferences. Many work directly with manufacturers to design custom signature models.
Factors like weight, grip size, shape, and materials all affect performance. Paddle choice also evolves as a player’s skills progress. Let’s examine the paddles wielded by some top-ranked pro players of Pickleball:
Brandon French
Paddle name: Joola Hyperion CFS 14MM
Chuck Taylor
Paddle name: JOOLA Hyperion CGS 14
Catherine Parenteau
Paddle name: Selkirk Vanguard Powe Air Invikta
Ben Johns
Paddle name: Signature Joola Hyperion CFS 16mm
Anna Leigh Waters
Paddle name: Paddletek Bantam TS-5 Pro
Allyce Jones
Paddle name: Joola Hyperion
Collin Johns
Paddle name: Electrum model E
JW Johnson
Paddle name: 17mm Franklin Signature Carbon STK Paddle
Maggie Brascia
Paddle name: Selkirk Labs 002
Matt Wright
Paddle name: Onix Evoke Premier
Sarah Ansboury
Paddle name: GAMMA 412
Thomas Wilson
Paddle name: CRBN 1X 14mm
Jackie Kawamoto
Paddle name: Selkirk Vanguard Power Air Invite Paddle
Hayden Patriquin
Paddle name: Franklin Signature Series
Lea Jansen
Paddle name: JOOLA Solaire CFS 14 Composite Paddle
Lucy Kovalova
Paddle name: Onix Evoke Premier
Final Words
Let the journeys of these top pros motivate you to follow your pickleball dreams. With dedication and perseverance, you, too, can develop pro-level skills.
Keep your passion alive, never stop improving, and remember – every champion once started as a novice. Just as Zig Ziglar said, “If you can dream it, you can achieve it!
FAQs
Q: What is the most essential trait for becoming a pro?
Passion for the sport.
Q: What is the typical age players go pro in pickleball?
Early to mid-20s.
Q: How much weekly training is recommended?
20-30 hours minimum.
