Since the onset of COVID, pickleball has exploded onto the world stage, and the secret of pickleball has found its way into celebrity circles, late night talk shows, and interviews.
Celebrities Who Play Pickleball (And Why It Matters)
- 1 “WHO CARES?”
- 2 The Beauty of Pickleball: No One Cares
- 3 What do you think?
- 4 p.s. Just Be Nice
- 5 Celebrities Who Play Pickleball
- 6 Did I leave anyone off? Let me know in the comments.
- 7 Related Articles
- 8 5 Surprising Facts from PPA Pickleball with Jim Ramsey | Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Waters, and More
- 9 How to Prepare for a Pickleball Tournament: An Ultimate Guide with Checklist
- 10 5 Important Pickleball Strategies for Outlasting Your Opponent
“WHO CARES?”
“WHO CARES?” is the response you’ll likely see from people in the comments section. Maybe you’re thinking that now. But there’s something else you should know: this kind of grass-root support from people who have millions of followers is amazing exposure for the sport.
More exposure means more people gaining interest, which means more fans and spectators, which means more CORPORATE SPONSORS, which means better payouts for everyone involved, which means more people get to make a living off of pickleball. Now your favorite pro pickleball player will be able to make a living from the sport. Maybe even YOU could make a living off of it.
These moments of exposure are the tide that rises, lifting all of our boats from a small pickleball lagoon with taped temporary courts out and into the beautiful pristine waters of permanent-courts and facilities.
The Beauty of Pickleball: No One Cares
There’s also a fundamental truth here: NO ONE cares who you are when you get on the pickleball court. That is the beauty of the sport. It combines people from all walks of life living life in the present with no twisted agenda. Rather, it’s all about having fun, competing, and getting better. On one side of the net you can have a millionaire and on the other you can have someone who lives month to month. None of that matters when you’re playing.
Simone Jardim said it best. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair the 41-year-old mother of two and savage destroyer of anyone challenging her position as the top-ranked women’s player, ascribed pickleball’s ability to bring different classes together to its humble roots in public venues. “On the same court, you can have a millionaire with someone living paycheck to paycheck,” she explains. “No one’s interested in what you do for a living, only in how long you’ve been playing.” There’s an egalitarianism to pickleball you don’t often find in other sports. I’ve had my ass kicked by men (and women) in their 60s, I’ve beaten friends with private jets and current college athletes, and I regularly swap pickleball-related texts with a former U.S. president, the Australian rocker Alex Cameron, and a buddy who jumps the NYC subway turnstiles to save cash. It’s not a group text, but still.
What do you think?
Do you hate it that celebrities are talking about pickleball? Or do you like it? Let me know in the comments.
p.s. Just Be Nice
Remember to be kind out there. We were all beginners at one point and we need to be especially welcoming to all beginners, no matter their status, amount of followers, or wealth. Happy pickleballin everyone!
Celebrities Who Play Pickleball
Ellen Degeneres
Brene Brown
Bill & Melinda Gates
The Kardashians Play Pickleball
Jillian Michaels (“The Biggest Loser”)
Gary Vaynerchuk (GaryVee) with Andre Agassi
Steve Nash & the Brooklyn Nets (NBA)
Kid Rock
And Many More…
- Julie Foudy (U.S. Soccer Player and ESPN Analyst)
- Julian Edelman (3-time Super Bowl champ)
- Fred Savage – (Wonder Years)
- Phillip Phillips (American Idol winner)
- Ben Crane (Pro Golfer)
- Jamie Foxx
- Owen Wilson
- Zach Braff
- George Clooney
- Nick Foles (NFL)
- Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm & Seinfeld Co-creator)
Did I leave anyone off? Let me know in the comments.
Related Articles
5 Surprising Facts from PPA Pickleball with Jim Ramsey | Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Waters, and More
Have you watched a ppa pickleball match on the PPA tour in the last few months and heard the announcers discuss some stats from the game or display some stats? If so, there’s a good chance those stats were collected by a man named Jim Ramsey.
Jim is the first broadcast statistician for the PPA and he has spent the last 35 years in broadcast.
I got a chance to talk with Jim and discuss stats that are important to the pro world, themes that he’s seeing, and the 5 most surprising stats he’s collected over the last few months.
How to Prepare for a Pickleball Tournament: An Ultimate Guide with Checklist
Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the world because it’s easy to play, it’s a great way to make new friends, and you can be as competitive or recreational as you want. But when you move from pick up games to pickleball tournaments, it raises the stakes, the level of competition, and the intimidation factor can go up.
Today we’re going to look at how to prepare for tournaments from tip to tail by breaking it down into stages, so you can easily take it step by step.
It’s my hope that with this video you’ll learn what to expect from tournaments, how to enjoy them and how to compete at a higher level with confidence.
5 Important Pickleball Strategies for Outlasting Your Opponent
Pickleball is an incredibly fun sport because it’s easy to start but difficult to master. In fact, skill and physical ability are only half the battle. When your opponents are equal to your skill level, the game becomes more strategic and mental.
Today we’re going to unpack some smart pickleball strategies that could give you an edge and help you improve the next time you’re on the court.