The majority of professional pickleball players enjoyed college or pro tennis careers, which undoubtedly provides an advantage over the competition.

However, the game is changing and there are lots of Junior PPA players who will eventually turn pro having never hit a tennis ball. Their entire game will be based around pickleball. They will be pickleball purists. 

“It’s truly so exciting. I think what the PPA Tour is doing with the juniors is truly so important, and it’s great to see the junior turnout improve. We have so many kids who are going to be so good,” said Anna Bright at the 2024 Pickleball Business Forum last month. “That's he advantage that Anna Leigh Waters has over the rest of the female field in pro pickleball. She’s played some tennis, but largely she’s a pure pickleball player. She has all of the patterns and her pickleball IQ is so developed because, when you’re a kid, you learn everything the best.”

Fellow pro Allyce Jones has watched her own kids develop on the court and taught her fair share of clinics for youngsters, too.

“Kids are just so creative. They think about the game completely differently than we do,” shared Jones. “That’s what makes me so excited to see how the game is going to continue to change and evolve.” 

Bright has paid particularly close attention to Jones’ daughter, Leah.

“Leah is very talented and she’ll be very good. She has a lefty partner named Ellie and I’m very impressed with her, too. It’s going to be really exciting to watch them grow,” noted Bright. “There will continue to be tennis players who come into the sport, but it’s the pure pickleball players who I think will be the future of pro pickleball.”

Bright cited her St. Louis Shock (MLP) teammates Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio as prime examples of players who continue to improve every season.

Bright and Tardio played mixed doubles together in MLP. 

“After the MLP tournament, Gabe said: ‘You’re not going to want to play mixed with me anymore. You’re too good for me, right?’”

Bright is the No. 2 woman in the world in mixed, so maybe Tardio was a little intimidated, but they'll be joining forces again in 2025.

That should tell you just how good his game really is.

“I came from college tennis, so I had this big spike in level,” mentioned Bright. “For these kids, it’s much more gradual of a process, but they’ll get there.”

The pros are watching the up-and-comers, and it couldn’t be more exciting to observe it all from the sidelines.

Think the Junior PPA is going to change the game? Let us know your thoughts on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).