The Palm Beach Royals will play their first matches in team history this week at MLP Columbus.

It’s a monumental moment for Major League Pickleball’s newest franchise to be sure, but perhaps even more so for Sofia Sewing.

Sewing, the top-ranked women’s singles player on the APP Tour, was the Royals’ first acquisition back in February after she signed a contract with the United Pickleball Association that allows her to compete in MLP.

“I think over the last year, I’ve made a lot of progress in my game overall, especially in my doubles game, so this just kind of feels like the right moment for me to test the waters and jump into something new and test my level,” she mentioned.

The 26-year-old should have a key role in the team’s starting lineup alongside pro pickleball veterans Tina Pisnik, Tyson McGuffin, and Dekel Bar, who she expects to lean on for guidance in her first season.

“It definitely helps knowing that you have a lot of stable partners next to you that know what they’re doing and can lead the way in tough moments,” she noted.

Away from the court, the Miami native says there’s something extra special about representing South Florida in MLP.

“I love my community so much—Boca, Palm Beach, all of it. When I got the opportunity to be a part of this team, that’s something that was such a big appeal to me: just being able to join a team that’s in my home base and be present at their events in the community,” she explained. “When I go and play this season and I’m representing the Royals, I’ll know that I’m also representing my home. That brings a lot of motivation.”

But there’s another reason—one that might not be as readily apparent—why Palm Beach is a perfect fit for Sewing: a shared admiration for Roger Federer.

From skipping school to watch him train at the Sony Ericsson Open (now Miami Open) to meeting him multiple times as a junior tennis star, Sewing admits that Federer was her idol during her tennis career that saw her reach a top-10 ranking on the ITF Junior World Tennis Tour.

And her respect for tennis royalty is as strong as ever.

“I love everything about him. He’s so classy. He has great sportsmanship. He’s just somebody that you can really look up to at any age.”

It’s fitting, then, that Royals co-owner Zach Hunter told me in February that the vision for the team is to be ‘the Roger Federer of Major League Pickleball:’

“We want to be the Roger Federer of Major League Pickleball. It doesn’t have to just be winning everything, but when you lose, how do you handle losing? How do you carry yourself on the court and off the court? We want to be a team that everyone looks up to. We want people to look at us and say, ‘They’re doing it the right way. They’re going out there every day and giving it their all, but they’re also giving back to the community. They’re authentic. You can talk to them. You can approach them.’ We want the Royals to have that type of identity, and we’re going to try and do everything we can to achieve it."

Sewing and the Royals will play their first match against the Carolina Hogs on Thursday, May 28, at 11:30am CT.

Buy tickets for MLP Columbus here, and follow all the action on Pickleballtv.