With over 36.5 million players active today, pickleball is one of the hottest sports in the United States consistently growing at a rapid pace. Even pro athletes such as LeBron James and Tom Brady love pickleball.
In fact, nearly 19% of the adult population in the United States has played pickleball in the last 12 months.
Professional pickleball players are found all over the country. If you would like to play at the professional level too, here's the inside scoop in how you can play pickleball at the highest level.
Nail the basics
In order to go pro, you must know all of the fundamentals like the back of your hand. Until you are much better than the average pickleball player, you won't be able to take the next step. For more info on how to get better at pickleball in a short amount of time, this pickleball resource guide will help you out.
Beat the best
One of the best ways to become a pro is to compete with—and beat—other great players in tournaments. The good news is that there are many pickleball tournaments out there. For example, the USAPA has a fantastic online resource that lists all of their approved tournaments across the United States. To sign up for these tournaments just go to their website and follow the instructions for registration.
Another valuable resource is pickleballtournaments.com. This directory will provide you with info about pickleball events happening around the country all throughout the year. Once you're winning tournaments, then you you can focus on your pickleball rating. You can learn more about pickleball ratings here on the USAPA website. Another resource, perhaps more accurate, is the Dreamland Universal Pickleball Ratings (DUPR). You can report your wins and losses. A DUPR rating goes from 2.0 to 8.0 for players.
Learn from the best
If you really want to go pro, hiring a professional pickleball coach will provide you with valuable insights. For example, a coach can help you spend focused time working on the weaknesses of your game. These are areas you may not even know that you have. In addition, a pickleball coach can even give you a personalized plan to help you work on any weaknesses in your game. To find a pickleball coach right in your area, just click here.
Take your game to the next level
Physical fitness is essential in pickleball, especially if you want to
play at the highest level. Pickleball coach Walter Araujo suggests including sessions that improve your footwork, strength, and hand speed. These skill sets will help you improve as a player.
Network, network, network
As you improve as a player, you want to make as many connections with other pickleball fans, players and sponsors as possible. The more connections you have, the more opportunities you will have. This approach is important because there is not just one way to become a professional pickleball player. You could land a sponsor through social media. You might meet someone at a tournament that helps you become a pro. You may even decide to become a coach yourself to help others in your area to hone your skills and to meet other players. Then through being a coach you could meet someone that gives you an opportunity to go pro.
Never stop growing
In order to compete at the highest level, you must be at the top of your game. That means practicing as much as possible. If you really want to make the most of each practice session, don’t overlook the importance of having a pickleball coach assist you in your journey. The most important thing is for you to keep growing and improving as a pickleball player on a daily basis. The great thing is that as pickleball only becomes more popular in the United States, more opportunities will continue to emerge.
If you are serious about becoming a professional pickleball player, the time to start is right now. Our pickleball coaches are here to help you succeed and have fun. Find a top pickleball coach near you on TeachMe.To.