Tyson McGuffin has done practically everything there is to do in professional pickleball.

He has earned over 80 PPA Tour medals, and his 13 titles are tied for 8^th-most all time.

But between the tournaments and trophies that have solidified his status as a titan of the sport, there are still moments that compel McGuffin to pause and reflect on just how far pickleball has come.

In an interview following his 11-4, 11-4 victory over Jimmy Liong in the men’s singles Round of 32 at the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam, the 36-year-old said something that puts the sport’s continued rise into fitting perspective.

“When I first started playing pickleball in 2016, I never thought I’d be in the position that I am now,” he said.

That sentiment is shared by many in the sport, but McGuffin’s perspective is unique; he represents a movement of ‘OG’ pros, instead of just a moment in time.

When McGuffin started out in 2016, the idea of being a full-time pickleball professional was nothing more than a dream with a few ‘big money’ tournaments spread throughout the year.

Ten years later, though, the landscape is completely different. Over 150 signed pros compete at PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball events across the globe, including last week’s Virginia Beach Open and Australia Pickleball Cup, along with this week’s event in Hong Kong.

It’s refreshing to see a player who once represented the pinnacle of the sport possess an awareness of and appreciation for where pro pickleball has been and, more importantly, where it’s going.

In the Round of 16, McGuffin will face Hunter Johnson in singles before he and Casey Diamond take on JW Johnson and Tama Shimabukuro in men’s doubles.

Live broadcast coverage will be available on the PPA Tour Asia YouTube channel Wednesday evening.