The World’s Best Picklers

Most of us are probably into the game just for the fun of it, and perhaps that’s how it started for these pickleball pros, too. But now, they’re some of the biggest names in the sport and most decorated players in the world. Meet the top three men’s and women’s singles players, according to Pickleball Global.

Male

1. Benjamin Johns

Johns, the current best men’s singles player in the world, is only 23 years old and didn’t even pick up a pickleball paddle until just a few years ago. His reason for starting? He said it felt like the perfect combination of tennis and table tennis, both of which he grew up playing. He’s won several gold medals in both singles and doubles tournaments and he recently signed a deal with Franklin Sports, becoming the first professional pickleball player to do so. 

2. Zane Navratil

Navratil grew up playing tennis from age 10 to 22 and his talents took him all the way to the University of Wisconsin men’s tennis team. Now, at 26, he’s currently ranked as the second best men’s singles pickleball player in the world. His dad urged him to try pickleball, and while it wasn’t an immediate success, he’s now one of the top athletes in the sport. Navratil is also a pickleball instructor.

3. Tyson McGuffin

McGuffin, the oldest of the top three players at age 31, is not only a pickleball pro, but also a father and an instructor. McGuffin grew up wrestling, but ended up playing college tennis. After coaching tennis for a few years, he was introduced to pickleball, and, like Navratil, struggled with the game at first. McGuffin didn’t struggle for long though, going pro within six months of beginning his pickleball journey. McGuffin continues to succeed and has been in the top five players worldwide for the past four years.

Female

1. Simone Jardim

Jardim is the highest-ranking women’s singles player in the world at 41 years old. She got her start playing tennis where she became a two-time All-American at Fresno State. Jardim went on to coach collegiate tennis, with her longest run being at Michigan State for eight years. She began playing pickleball in 2015 and is now one of pickleball’s most elite players, winning nearly 90 medals in tournament play. Jardim and her husband have two children and also own and operate Peak Performance Pickleball Academy.

2. Catherine Parenteau

27-year-old Parenteau ranks number two in the world of pickleball, just behind Simone Jardim, who taught Parenteau everything she knows. Parenteau was a player on Jardim’s Michigan State tennis team where Jardim insisted she give pickleball a try in 2015. The rest is history. Now, when she’s not playing pickleball herself, Parenteau teaches others how to play the game.

3. Lea Jansen

Much like the rest of the top three, Jansen played college tennis at Washington State University and Aquinas. She recently finished up a graduate assistant program at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan and moved back to her hometown of Spokane, Washington. She trains with another singles pro, Tyson McGuffin, who she says has helped her game tremendously. 

All of these top players came from tennis backgrounds, which is no surprise considering the transferability of skills between the two sports, but even the best of them struggled with pickleball at first. There’s great value in playing the game for enjoyment, but if you want to move to the next level, just take a lesson from the pros: persevere, work hard and have fun.