Following a successful collegiate and pro tennis career, Roscoe Bellamy joined pickleball's professional ranks a couple of years ago. 

Despite his natural athleticism and a powerful serve, it wasn't a seamless transition. 

Like other former tennis players seeking successful careers in America's fastest-growing sport, Bellamy needed to put in the work to level up his game with the help of others - including a coach, his MLP teammates, and friends on tour.

And things are definitely trending in the right direction as he recently earned a berth in the Men’s Singles Final at the Veolia North Carolina Open.

“For a long time, I was working on my doubles game because I think from having that tennis background I was just a natural singles player,” Bellamy explained. “But recently I said 'You know what? I have a shot to be a top singles player,' so I really started to focus more on it and trying to improve my game.”

Defeating Hunter Johnson, Zane Ford, and Max Freeman en route to Championship Sunday is no easy feat.

“I went with my coach and we just got a bucket of balls and worked on singles shots over and over,” said Bellamy. “I think we were really efficient especially, in North Carolina.”

Training with Hunter and Yates Johnson, along with Parris Todd, helped shape his game when he was still new to the pro circuit. 

Notably, H. Johnson just reached a new career high of World No. 2 in men’s singles and Todd reached No. 4 in women’s singles.

Clearly, Bellamy is in good company. 

“I’m not trying to be that guy who has one good run, but instead has multiple good runs and does it consistently,” he said. 

Bellamy has been focusing on a few key skills to reach new heights.

“I’ve really been working on my return game and volleying. I think those have been my most improved. Especially coming from tennis, it’s all about a big serve,” he explained. “Working on the return game has been huge for me, but I’ve been focusing on consistency overall too.” 

Bellamy was also drafted by MLP's Columbus Sliders earlier this year.

At MLP Columbus, he partnered with Andrei Daescu after CJ Klinger pulled out due to illness, so he could put his talents on display.

“I’m learning a lot from Andrei, specifically his mentality when he goes into these matches. He’s so competitive and he really wants every point and it shows,” mentioned Bellamy. “His mental game gives him the edge a lot of the time.”

Bellamy is definitely a player to watch in PPA Tour and MLP events alike.

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