Before signing with the PPA Tour, Abbigal Hatton spent her days working as a train conductor—a career path few professional athletes can claim.

Her road to pro pickleball was anything but conventional, filled with unexpected twists that ultimately led her to the sport's biggest stage. 

“After college, it was 2020 and I was working part-time in sports medicine physical therapy. One day, I went into the physical therapy gym where these old people were playing pickleball and they invited me to play,” recalled Hatton. “Eventually, I became the pickleball coordinator at the facility and started putting tournaments together.” 

At the time, though, Hatton had no plans of becoming a professional pickleball player.

Instead, she packed up, moved to Nebraska, and began a career as a train conductor.

“I did that for about a year and a half. My dad was a director, so I grew up with it. He was on the maintenance side, and I was on the transportation side. I actually drove the trains, and he worked on the tracks,” mentioned Hatton. “But it’s a different type of career. It’s not a woman’s career. It’s a bunch of men, but I liked it. It was cool to learn the trains and how they work.”

As a train conductor, however, Hatton spent much of her time on the road.

“When I first started, I traveled a lot. I worked in Nebraska, so I’ve been all over there, Ohio, North and South Dakota. We would basically drop the train off, then we’d stay there, wait for the next train, and we’d bring it back to the hub,” she explained. “But the travel and hours were a lot, so I decided I wanted to work in the yard. That was a lot easier. I worked eight-hour days instead of 12-hour days.” 

About a year and a half later, Hatton was furloughed where she moved back home to Texas to be closer to family, with the intention of eventually working with trains again. However, when she returned to Texas, she started playing pickleball again. 

“I met Noe Khlif and his wife Jen, I met Sarah Williams, Sam Parker and started playing with all the Dallas based pros. They suggested I start playing tournaments. There was an MLP tournament in Austin, so I drove down with Jen to watch. And that’s when I saw Jack Sock, Federico Staksrud, and all the big names playing and I thought to myself, ‘Oh I want to start doing this,’” Hatton said. 

Hatton quickly began competing on the PPA Challenger Series before earning a PPA Tour contract in early 2026. She now competes for the Carolina Hogs in Major League Pickleball. Although the opportunity came unexpectedly, she has never looked back on her decision to change careers.

“I absolutely made the right choice. I played basketball in college and grew up playing volleyball, golf, stuff like that. I love getting to play and compete as a professional athlete,” praised Hatton. “It brings me back to my high school and college days, which were so fun.”

Through every career change, Hatton has embraced new opportunities with optimism, following her passions while remaining excited about where life will take her next.

“I’m still learning about myself. I’m learning about how I work, who I am, and who I want to be because pickleball is a small part of my life,” she concluded. “It’s not everything, but it’s a really good part of my life right now.”

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