Following Friday's quarterfinal action from the CIBC Atlanta Slam presented by Vizzy, PickleballTV analysts Matt Manasse and Kamryn Blackwood participated in a "Build-a-player" segment on Pickleball Live. 

Manasse and Blackwood each constructed their "ultimate pickleball athlete" based on five key criteria - serve, drives, flick, put-away power, and intangibles - by identifying current players who they believe are the best in each of the aforementioned aspects of the sport.

Here are the results:

Matt Manasse

Serve - Dekel Bar
One of the biggest serves on tour. He uses those legs. He jumps into the court. It is terrible to play against that serve and trying to get into the net. It’s almost like a tennis serve. There’s so much action behind that topspin. It pushes you back. It is very tough to deal with.

Drives - Daniel De La Rosa
This guy’s forehand drive, coming from racquetball, is massive. It is flat and it goes low below the net. 

Flick - Ben Johns
I know that’s an old-school pick, but it’s still the best on tour in terms of forehand and backhand, but specifically that backhand.

Put-away power - Eric Oncins
“Air Oncins” we’ll call him. That’s like Pete Sampras back in the day. Look for him in the next six months, 12 months to make a real impact on tour. This guy’s going to be someone to watch.

Intangibles - Anna Leigh Waters
She is, without a doubt, mentally the toughest player on tour. In mixed doubles and women's doubles, she always gets the best out of her partner, which is a huge positive for her. I didn’t even have to think about that one.

Kamryn Blackwood

Serve - James Ignatowich
He has even hit some aces with his new serve. He puts a lot of pop behind it, a lot of power.

Drives - Parris Todd
Absolutely electric. We saw her play Kate Fahey in Atlanta, and her drives were on. She just trusts it so much, especially coming from tennis. She stays low and she can pick any spot. I'll take Parris Todd's groundstrokes over any guy's in the game.

Flick - Gabe Tardio
He has some of the best hands in the business. I know he’s trained with JW Johnson, but I’d go with him all day.

Put-away power - Jack Sock
It’s not coming back. I’ll take that any day. 

Intangibles - Anna Leigh Waters
You’ve got to go with her. When it comes down to the wire, any shot, whether she’s down or she’s up, indoors or outdoors, it doesn’t matter, she’s going to get the job done.

"We're going to build these players in PPA Pickleball Tour 2025, and then actually have y'all play and see who wins," said host Steve Weissman, once the picks were in.

That should be fun.