If you haven’t heard the name Elsie Hendershot, yet, now’s the time to start paying attention.

At just 13 years old, Hendershot has already signed as a PPA pro and was drafted by one of Major League Pickleball’s top teams, the St. Louis Shock.

She recently opened up about her rising pickleball journey and how her career has developed so far.

“I started playing pickleball about three-and-a-half years ago,” she said. “But I started taking it seriously and drilling every day about two-and-a-half years ago.”

Before she discovered America's fastest-growing sport, Hendershot was actually a soccer player. 

“I was in a soccer league, and then I got into club soccer and played for about two years. It was a really hard decision to quit because when I started getting really into pickleball, I was playing both at the time and it was just too much,” she explained. “But I realized that I didn’t like practicing for soccer. I loved playing, but the drilling and practices weren’t fun for me. But for pickleball, I loved drilling, so that helped me make my decision.”

After committing fully to pickleball, Hendershot was surprised with a Christmas gift she’ll never forget.

“In 2023, my dad actually gave me a piece of paper saying my gift was going to compete in some Junior PPA tournaments,” revealed Hendershot. “For my first tournament, I won silver with one of my partners, and in my second tournament, I got gold in singles.” 

From there, Hendershot quickly established herself as the top player on the junior circuit, and she officially turned pro and signed with the PPA Tour in 2025.

“When I started playing pickleball, I knew I wanted to go pro. I would watch the pros and think how fun it looked and I wanted to go play with them,” she insisted. “I was so excited to start competing at that higher level when I signed.”

However, the jump from competing on the Junior PPA Tour to facing pro qualifiers marked a major adjustment.

“In juniors I was winning. I was competing with other 12-year-olds, and then I started competing in Under-16. I lost a couple times, but I still got some wins,” recalled Hendershot. “Now that I play pro, the competition is harder, so it’s been a little tough. But I think I’m figuring it out and I’m getting better, so it’s fun to progress.”

One of the biggest changes Hendershot has made to elevate her game has been increasing the amount of drilling in her daily training routine as she adapts to tougher competition.

“I used to only drill every day for two hours, but recently I started doing two drill sessions for two hours every day and then I exercise for an hour,” she said. “It’s been tough, but I’ve already seen so much progress that I feel like it’s helping me, so I’m going to continue to do that.”

Hendershot is quickly emerging as one of pickleball’s rising stars. After making her MLP debut at MLP Dallas and gaining experience alongside some of the sport’s top players, her game appears to be trending in the right direction.

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