It’s safe to say that many(90%) professional pickleball players have a background in tennis. And amongtennis players, especially the world’s top players, some did not pursue higher education.
So, how educated are the world’s best pickleball players really? Well, the answer is, very. The best part? For most of them, their degrees aren’t related to sports.
The education of the top pickleball players in each category
Women’s singles
Anna Leigh Waters
Country: US
Education: High school graduate
Job: Professional pickleball player
Source:Pickleball.com
Kate Fahey
Country: US
Education: University of Michigan (Bachelor of Arts in International Studies with a minor in
Spanish Literature and Language, and Business Administration and Management)
Job: Former senior associate product manager, Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Kaitlyn Christian
Country: US
Education: University of Southern California (Bachelor’s degree in Sociology)
Job: —
Source:The Dink Pickleball
Brooke Buckner
Country: US
Education: University of Michigan (Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education)
Job: Former assistant tennis coach
Source:Major League Pickleball
Lea Jansen
Country: US
Education: Washington State University (Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, MBA in Healthcare Management)
Job: Assistant tennis coach, Professional pickleball player
Source:Major League Pickleball,Davenport University
Women’s doubles
Anna Bright
Country: US
Education: University of California, Berkeley (Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Business Administration)
Job: Account manager, Data and product analyst
Source:LinkedIn
Tyra Hurricane Black
Country: US
Education: Unknown
Job: —
Source: —
Catherine Parenteau
Country: Canada
Education: University of Arkansas (Bachelor’s degree — transferred), University of Arkansas (Bachelor’s degree in Psychology)
Job: Professional pickleball player
Source:YouTube
Jorja Johnson
Country: US
Education: Unknown
Job: —
Source: —
Parris Todd
Country: US
Education: Bollettieri Tennis Academy
Job: Business owner, Fashion designer, Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Women’s mixed doubles
Jessie Irvine
Country: US
Education: University of California, Los Angeles (Bachelor’s degree in Sports Psychology)
Job: Professional pickleball player
Source:PPA Tour
Tina Pisnik
Country: Slovenia
Education: Unknown
Job: Tennis coach, Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Rachel Rohrabacher
Country: US
Education: University of South Carolina (Bachelor of Arts in Psychology), University of South Florida (Master of Social Work)
Job: Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Etta Tuionetoa
Country: US
Education: Brigham Young University
Job: Unknown
Source:Pickleball.com
Alix Truong
Country: US
Education: George Mason University (Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Administration and Management)
Job: Student, Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Men’s singles
Hunter Johnson
Country: US
Education: Southern Methodist University
Job: Professional pickleball player
Source:Major League Pickleball
Federico Staksrud
Country: Argentina
Education: University of New Orleans (Bachelor of Business Administration), Tennessee Wesleyan University (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management), Florida Gulf Coast University (Master of Business Administration in Data Analytics), Florida Gulf Coast University (Master of Science in Management Information Systems, Informatics and Information Tech Management)
Job: Former business development specialist, Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Christopher Haworth
Country: US
Education: Oklahoma State University (Bachelor’s degree in Marketing)
Job: Professional pickleball player
Source:Pickleball.com
Connor Garnett
Country: US
Education: Santa Clara University (Bachelor’s degree in Finance), University of Nottingham (Master of Science in Finance and Investments)
Job: Former investment banking analyst, Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Christian Alshon
Country: US
Education: University of Virginia (Pre-Communication, Business/Commerce), University of Chicago (Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a Specialisation in Business Economics)
Job: Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Men’s doubles
Gabriel Tardio
Country: Bolivia
Education: Unknown
Job: Professional pickleball player
Source:Pickleball Wiki
Ben Johns
Country: US
Education: University of Maryland (Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering)
Job: Business owner, Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Andrei Daescu
Country: Uruguay
Education: University of Oklahoma
Job: Unknown
Source:Pickleball.com
JW Johnson
Country: US
Education: Unknown
Job: Unknown
Source: —
Hayden Partiquin
Country: US
Education: Online school
Job: Unknown
Source:PPA Tour
Men’s mixed doubles
Noe Khlif
Country: France
Education: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting)
Job: Senior audit and assurance analyst
Source:LinkedIn
Eric Oncins
Country: Brazil
Education: Florida Gulf Coast University (Bachelor’s degree in Communications)
Job: Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
Jonathan Truong
Country: US
Education: Unknown
Job: Unknown
Source: —
Dylan Frazier
Country: US
Education: University of Missouri (Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration)
Job: Professional pickleball player, Pickleball instructor
Source:LinkedIn
Riley Newman
Country: US
Education: Skagit Valley College (Associate of Arts), Seattle University (Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Corrections)
Job: Business owner, Professional pickleball player
Source:LinkedIn
