Alix Truong was recently named the Dink Awards’ Women’s Breakout Player of the Year after an impressive 2025 season marked by notable PPA Tour Asia victories, many of which she achieved alongside her younger brother and fellow pro, Jonathan Truong.

Although she’s gaining recognition now, Truong has been competing at a high level in pickleball for the past five years.

“In the summer of 2020, I started playing pickleball with my dad at a bunch of local tournaments. I was 16 years old and we were living in the DC area, and we actually won a ton of amateur events,” she recalled. “Then we came out to Utah because it was a higher and more competitive level, and we started winning tournaments out there. Eventually, we realized that there was prize money, and I wanted to grow upon that.”

Alix's faher John was her tennis coach growing up, and the two of them started playing a lot of pickleball during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Truong never imagined that a pandemic pastime would turn into a professional career, but as they continued going head-to-head on the court, her skills quickly improved—eventually surpassing her father’s.

“It was fun playing with my dad at first, but once I got better, we realized that I was getting too good,” she said. “It was definitely a rough split at first, but he understood that I needed better partners if I wanted to pursue this. I know he’s super happy to see me play.”

Truong shared that she grew up with a strict upbringing.

When she told her parents she wanted to pursue professional pickleball instead of going straight to college after high school, they weren’t immediately on board.

“Growing up in our household, it was always you go to school, go to college, go be a doctor or a lawyer. I was the one who split apart from that when I told them I wanted to be a professional pickleball player,” explained Truong. “I was bawling my eyes out when I told them because it’s such a strict household and I wanted to go off and do my own thing. It was something so new at the time. No one knew what the future held for pro pickleball. We still don’t. But it took some time and they accepted it, and at the end of the day, pickleball is paying my bills and school does the opposite.”

Though it was a leap of faith, Truong couldn’t be happier with her decision, and before long, her parents came around and fully supported her dream.

 “They can’t come to every tournament, but my dad and mom are always watching,” she emphasized. “They’re definitely our biggest fans.”

Jonathan was reportedly just as skeptical of his older sister’s decision to pursue professional pickleball.

“He actually made fun of me at first when we started playing pickleball. He didn’t believe I could make it,” said Truong. “But then he saw how well I was doing and how cool this environment is, and he saw that you can actually make a career out of it. Now, he’s so into it and wants to do the same thing.”

With Jonathan now a signed pro as well, pickleball has truly become a family affair for the Truongs.

“I love that my brother plays, too,” concluded Truong. “My parents love watching us, and it’s become a fun thing for my whole family to be a part of.”

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