Australian pro Cleo Bond, formerly known as Helena Spiridis, is definitely helping bring professional pickleball into the spotlight.

Bond is also a model and the founder of Waev Sports, an athleticwear and swimwear brand. Recently, she returned to the court after an eight-month hiatus—and her comeback made waves, even catching the attention of celebrities.

She shared an Instagram reel of herself competing in women’s singles on center court at the Carvana Mesa Cup, and the video quickly went viral. It currently has 58.5K likes, and the number is still climbing.

The video was also shared on X (formerly Twitter), where it continued to gain traction. The viral moment sparked curiosity beyond the pickleball community, with many people suddenly eager to find out more about the stunning athlete.

Dozens of users debated the identity of the player in the clip. Even Grok, the platform’s AI chatbot, joined the speculation. The amusing part is that the bot repeatedly misidentified Bond, first claiming it was Anna Leigh Waters, then Parris Todd, Hurricane Tyra Black, and eventually settling on Kiora Kunimoto. As far as anyone could tell, Grok never actually figured out that the player in the video was Bond.

Needless to say, Bond’s video attracted plenty of attention, earning her a host of new followers and fans. Most notably, Canadian rapper and singer Drake even started following her.

But sorry, guys! She’s taken. And no, not by Drake. Bond has been in a long-term relationship with fellow Australian and Waev co-founder Tom Evans.

Needless to say, the 24-year-old makes pickleball look good. She’s incredibly fit, undeniably beautiful, and the fact that she can also hold her own with a paddle makes it even more impressive.

She’s yet another example proving that pickleball isn’t just for the elderly. In fact, the sport is rapidly gaining popularity among younger generations. Pickleball is cool.

What I love is that Bouchard or Bond’s videos might pop up on a random guy named Brad’s feed, and he hits follow simply because she’s beautiful. The bonus? Brad’s feed suddenly gets filled with pickleball content too. That’s a win for the sport.

The more attention pro pickleball gets, the better. Before long, Brad will be watching highlight reels of Hayden Patriquin, picking up a JOOLA paddle, and even taking a day off to catch the PPA tournament in Newport Beach.

For me, pickleball only benefits from pros like Bond helping grow the game worldwide. And when even Drake is impressed enough to hit follow, it just proves that pickleball isn’t just a sport for older players.

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