In 2016, the PPA Tour didn’t exist, and pickleball was still tucked away in nursing homes and the occasional school gym in the Northwest. Ben Johns was grinding through endless dinking rallies with Kyle Yates and Simone Jardim at small tournaments in Florida, while Anna Leigh Waters and her mom, Leigh, were fully focused on Anna Leigh’s future in soccer. It was a completely different era.

Fast forward to the start of 2026, when a wave of nostalgia took over social media and everyone began sharing their 2016 throwbacks—the good, the bad, the cringeworthy, and the charming. A handful of pro pickleball players couldn’t resist joining in, posting snapshots of who they were and where the sport was a decade ago.

Genie Bouchard’s 2016 might have been the most shocking of all. Her throwback photos alone turned heads—especially her Sports Illustrated looks, where she somehow appears not to have aged a single day in the past decade. That year, Bouchard represented Canada and made her Olympic debut in Rio, appeared multiple times in the publication, and, most surprisingly of all, shaved half her head. 

Hannah Blatt was another pro pickleball athlete who joined in with a 2016 recap of her own. It was a big year for Blatt, who was competing in junior squash and representing Canada at the Junior Pan Am Games, where she took home silver. Off the court, her memories were peak 2016, including days spent on boats wake surfing, fishing, filming everything on a GoPro, and even running a Color Run.

Both Blatt’s and Bouchard’s throwbacks were packed with unmistakable 2016 trends. Blatt shared a photo of herself in green capris and black wedge espadrilles, an outfit that absolutely ruled that era. She also posted what appears to be a Halloween costume dressed as an alien, a nod to the alien-and-galaxy obsession that dominated 2016. Those really were the days.

Bouchard, meanwhile, leaned fully into the fashion of the time, even rocking a strappy black felt choker tied into a bow. I swear I had the exact same one in high school and thought it was the height of cool. For someone as fashion-forward as Bouchard, it’s no surprise she nailed 2016’s most iconic accessories.

Mary Brascia also took part in the 2016 nostalgia, sharing memories from a summer when she and her family set out on a cross-country road trip. Over summer break, they traveled through 24 states, taking in the monuments of Washington, D.C., the stockyards of Texas, and, of course, a stop at Disney World.

JOOLA also joined the throwback trend, sharing a scrapbook-style collage of its pros from 10 years ago. The most delightful part was seeing just how different all of their lives looked back then.

Some were already chasing pro careers, like Donald Young, who was competing on the tennis tour, while others were carefree preteens, like Anna Bright, pictured lounging on the beach with a piñata. Lacy Schneemann was feeding zebras from her car, and Kate Fahey was caught at a concert, sporting that same on-trend black choker.

It’s safe to say none of these pros imagined pickleball would become their career back in 2016. The PPA Tour wouldn’t even exist for another four years. It’s incredible how much can change in just a decade.

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