In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, love is in the air on the pro pickleball circuit.

Among the standout couples are Rafa Hewett and Marcela Hones, whose sweet romance began where many great partnerships do, on the PPA Tour, where the two first met.

“It was my first tournament playing on the PPA Tour, the 2024 Sacramento Open, and Rafa invited a bunch of people over for dinner at his hotel. It was a bunch of random people like me, Pablo [Tellez] and Dylan [Frazier]. I was so hungry, so I was scarfing down food. Rafa has a distinct memory of me where he says that he “fell in love with me” when I had two pieces of bread in my hand and I was just scarfing it down,” recalled Hones. “At the time, I really wasn’t looking for anyone. I came into the pro tour and I said, ‘The next guy I date either doesn’t play pickleball or he’s a 3.0 and below,’” said Hones. 

Then, Hewett asked her out.

But she actually turned him down a couple of times. 

“We had four tournaments back-to-back. He just kept asking me out after every tournament, and I kept saying no,” she explained. “Rafa’s personality is the kind where he always pushes through. If he wants something, he’s going to go get it.”

Even after the rejections, they stayed friends, slowly building a connection as they got to know each other better over time.

“I had such a different assumption of him at first, but when I got to know him, I realized he’s like the sweetest person with such a big heart,” praised Hones. 

Ironically, when she eventually said yes to a date, Hones later admitted it didn’t exactly go well.

“We went to a restaurant and he was on his phone a lot. I was convinced that he was bored and didn’t like me at all,” she mentioned. “Later, he told me it was because he was so nervous.”

The two kept spending time together on tour, and before long, their friendship grew into a full-fledged romance.

“As we spent more and more time together, I really fell in love with his personality,” shared Hones. “I’ve never met a person like him. He’s so vibrant, charismatic, and loving. I’m so grateful for him, and I can’t imagine doing this without him.”

Now together for a year and a half, Hewett and Hones have embraced life on the road, traveling the world, competing in the sport they love, and building a shared life along the way. 

“I have two beautiful kids, and the first time I saw her around with the kids she just had that motherly instinct. I love how fun and silly she is,” said Hewett. “We just have a lot of fun together traveling on tour, sightseeing, and going to theme parks. She’s all about the adventure and I love that.” 

Hewett is one of the fortunate few who turned a pickleball crush into something real.

So what advice does he have for other players hoping to take their shot?

“What’s the worst thing that could happen? They say no,” he said. “I got three no’s, and then I finally got a yes. It eventually worked for me.”

In the end, it comes down to persistence and compatibility.

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