The Pros Behind MLP: Meet Some of the Faces in Major League Pickleball

Jorja Johnson is from Boynton Beach, Florida and is one of the youngest professional pickleball players at 16 years old. The Johnson family tree is one of the most elite in pickleball. Her brother, J.W., is one of the top ranked players in the world and her mom, Julie, is one of the most decorated senior pro pickleball players. Her team faced off against J.W.'s during MLP Columbus which saw an epic five set dreambreaker. Jorja and the Hard Eights were able to pull it out after an improbable comeback.

Jorja Johnson: "We had a couple of bad breaks with some net chords and just unlucky shots where it hit the tape and didn't quite roll over for us. I think we just had to really stay in it mentally, and you know, eventually, that doesn't work forever, and the tides will turn in your direction. So you just have to remember that. Any luck can turn around in just a second."

While many players, even on the pro-tour, are relatively new to the game of pickleball, Simone Jardim has been around the game since 2016. After coming to the United States from Brazil on a tennis scholarship, Jardim coached at Michigan State. She was convinced one day to play and after that the rest was history. She is one of the most decorated professional pickleball players with 17 PPA Tour titles. She wasn't sure if she would be able to commit for a whole season due to injuries, but after the first MLP event of the year that fire started burning again.

Simone Jardim: "The first event, when I went, it brought back memories of being on a team which is my foundation. I came to America to be on a team to play college tennis and then I coached for many years. So it brought back all of that and more because pickleball is different, it's unique. The format is unique, so all of it was just like a different feeling. It made me fall in love with pickleball over again."

Rafa Hewett is from Idaho and played collegiate tennis. After getting a pickleball paddle as a birthday gift, he decided to give the game a try. Despite not knowing any of the rules, Hewett took gold at his first tournament and decided to dedicate his time to going pro. It proved to be a good decision, with his team winning two of the three tournaments this past MLP season. It wasn't just the winning that helped Hewett fall in love with pickleball, but it was the game itself.

Rafa Hewett: "Where can you find a sport where you can have four generations on the court? I can have my grandmother, my mother, and my seven-year-old daughter, and myself all on the same court at the same time. I can't do that with any other sport. That's what's so great to me, I'm gonna be able to play this sport pretty much till the day I die."

Irina Tereschenko is from Moscow, Russia, but has been living in the United States for over 20 years. Tereschenko played collegiate tennis at Texas Tech before transitioning into a coaching career. She helped propel team BLQK to two tournament victories this MLP season, most recently at MLP Columbus. She is a veteran of the game of pickleball, first picking up a paddle in 2013 and sees pickleball as a game for the masses.

Irina Tereschenko: "From a broader perspective for people who don't have a tennis background, this game is absolutely unique because the way the rules and the equipment are designed. It really blurs the boundaries between age and gender and the learning curve is very short. I think the world has never seen a sport like this, it's been around for awhile but, I'm glad it's having a resurgence right now."

Gabriel Tardio is a 17-year-old professional pickleball player who currently lives in Florida. After his grandfather fell in love with the game of pickleball, he built two courts in their home country of Bolivia, which exposed Gabriel to the game for the first time. He immediately was drawn to the sport and has quickly climbed the professional ranks. There is no doubt the future is bright for the young pickleballer in the MLP.

Gabriel Tardio: "What I love about pickleball is it's such a fast sport, but at the same time you have to be patient. It's fast and patient. It's also such a new sport, it's great."

Lina Padegimaite is a professional pickleball player originally from Lithuania. She originally came to the United States on a tennis scholarship and  obtained a degree in exercise science, as well as a doctorate in physical therapy. She began playing pickleball in 2020, but fully started dedicating herself to the game in 2021. She see's pickleball growing into an international game.

Lina Padegimaite: "I'm Lithuanian, and we just started Lithuania's pickleball federation this year and we're going to host the first tournament in November. So I think it's just going to start kind of branching out into other communities, which I think is huge because the more countries playing the sport then you can start being considered for Olympics at some point"

Federico Staksrud is from Argentina and currently ranks as the fifth best mens single pickleball player in the world. Staksrud originally came to the United States for collegiate tennis. He started playing pickleball in 2021 and immediately was addicted.

Federico Staksrud: "I just really like that you can have fun playing with all different levels. I play pro but I can have fun playing with amateur players, kids, older people, I really like that aspect of the game.

Without a doubt a fan-favorite at MLP Columbus was the great Lee Whitwell from Gibraltar. Whitwell came to the United States in "the late 1900's" (her words not mine) on a tennis scholarship. She enjoyed an illustrious collegiate career and played professional tennis before reverting into a coaching/directing role. A friend finally convinced her to participate in a pickleball tournament in 2017, and the rest would be history.

Lee Whitwell: "My friend of mine asked me to play in a tournament and at first I was reluctant. I always knew I had a price. I always knew I could be bought, but I thought my price was high. Come to find out, my price is a case of Coors Light. We actually won, but more-so than the win was the fun I had on the court. It was the most fun thing I'd ever done, I could never imagine having that much fun at a competition."

Ben Newell is from Topeka, Kansas, and has a deep tennis background. He first picked up the paddle around 2019 playing in tournaments and local leagues. At heart, Newell is a competitor, and MLP gives him the opportunity to express that on a big stage. However, he wants to see the MLP experience evolve for the fans.

Ben Newell: "The thing I would change would be anything for the fans. Can they connect with us more, can we connect with them more, it would be so fun to throw stuff to the crowd. Have more of an introduction about who the players are so we can find some local fans in the crowd. Anything to connect with the fanbase because we're playing for them."

Mary Brascia is a 22-year-old professional pickleball player from California. She had a background in tennis but during the pandemic she was nudged by her parents to try the sport. Once she started playing she was hooked right away, falling in love with the sport and community surrounding it. Brascia went viral during MLP Columbus for an absurd behind the back shot she returned during a rally. She told us what was going through her head when she made the return.

Mary Brascia: "I actually do hit that shot in practice, in the moment, it's just kind of a reflex. The fact I did it in a match wasn't really a shock to me but to everyone else it was like, "what?!" It's just a weird thing I have haha."

If you want to know what dedication looks like, just look to Rob Nunnery. Nunnery currently resides in Hawaii, but travels in-land for MLP tournaments and other events. He currently hosts a pickleball podcast with fellow pro-player Adam Stone on-top of playing. Nunnery has a clear vision of the potential MLP has and expressed that passionately.

Rob Nunnery: I think the big question is how friendly will it be viewership wise on television. I think another big piece is will sports betting be involved in pickleball. I think when that happens the sport will have to be regulated a lot more, but it's gonna get a ton more eyeballs on it. I think that's where the pro aspect of pickleball really takes off."