Australian country music star Morgan Evans was a headliner at the Lapiplasty® 3D Bunion Correction® Pickleball World Championships, but he's no stranger to America's fastest-growing sport.

Evans genuinely loves to play, and he even watched the action through Saturday's semi-finals matches on Proton Championship Court.

“This is my first time at a proper tournament and the atmosphere is just amazing. One thing I love about this sport is the community,” he said. “I wanted to stick around at the World Championship to be a part of it.”

Evans shared that he often hits the court while touring the globe. 

“Last year, we went on tour with Brett Eldredge and every day he would have his team put lines out and set up the net,” he mentioned. “We would play all day. It was great.”

Pickleball is the perfect activitiy to blow off some steam and relax between performances.

Like a lot of people out there, Evans discovered pickleball in 2020 and quickly became a real enthusiast.

“When everything was shut down and there were no shows to play, pickleball became the way to get out of the house, catch up with the boys, be social, and get outside,” he explained. “We were playing every day, and it became one of those things that stuck. It’s still social exercise for me.”

In 2023, Evans even played in a pickleball tournament alongside fellow country star, Phillip Phillips, who performed at the 2023 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships.

“My team took out Dirk Bentley’s team, but I was playing with Phillip and he's a ringer,” he said. “I think he was the main reason we took Dirk’s team out.”

Evans is currently based in Nashville, of course, and he has a good group of pickleball buddies.

“I just love to play, and I also love to trash talk,” he shared.

Evans regularly travels to Australia to visit family, so he has seen the rapid growth of the sport in the Land Down Under first-hand.

“I’m excited about pickleball every time I go back home,” he mentioned. “Everyone is talking about it more.”

Case in point, the PPA Tour added the Australia Pickleball Open to its 2025 schedule.

There's also an Australian pickleball pro named Morgan Evans who’s a coach and high-level player.

“If you’re listening, Morgan, I’d love to play pickleball some time,” joked Evans with a laugh. 

Perhaps next year we’ll be seeing more country music stars at the Deep Eddy Vodka Celebrity Pickleball Showdown.

Dirks Bentley and Dirk Nowitzki on the same court? That would be epic.