An exceptional athlete from a young age, Layne Sleeth seamlessly transitioned from Canadian junior tennis standout to professional pickleball star.

Her diverse sports background proved invaluable in that regard.

“I grew up playing basically every sport. My parents put me in everything—golf, gymnastics, tennis, track and field, soccer—and at 12 I just played tennis because it was my best sport,” said Sleeth in a recent interview on the King of the Court podcast. “I played on an all-boys hockey team, too, so I think that’s where I get a lot of my athleticism.”

Sleeth credits her experienceon the ice and competing with the boys team for honing her athleticism and aggressive style of play.

After years of playing tennis, she was ready for a new challenge. An elbow injury marked the end of her tennis journey, and it was her mother, Judy, who encouraged her to give pickleball a try.

“I’d played pickleball a few times with my family during Christmastime for fun, but my mom sat me down and said, ‘I think you should go play pickleball.’ She had followed it for a little bit and she saw that [Hurricane Tyra Black] was doing well. Tyra and I played at the same junior tennis tournaments growing up, so my mom thought I’d be good at it,” explained Sleeth. “Literally the next day I picked it up, and Graham D’Amico (co-founder of the St. Pete Athletic Club) taught me how to play. Then I went and played the Austin PPA and got signed in 2024.” 

Sleeth shared that while her tennis background made singles feel natural, mixed doubles is where she truly shines.

“Mixed doubles is my favorite,” she confirmed. “I like the faster play, hands battles, and playing against guys.”

Sleeth aims to further develop her aggressive play to take her game to the next level.

“I want to be more aggressive,” she emphasized. “I have good drops and good dinks, but I want to be better at knowing when to pull the trigger, and work on generating more power.” 

Podcast host and general manager of MLP's California Black Bears, Jimmy Miller, praised Sleeth’s drives as being among the best in the game.

Sleeth also relocated from Tampa, FL, to Boca Raton, home to the vast majority of pro pickleball players. Training alongside top-level athletes, including regular sessions with Alix Truong and Victoria DiMuzio, has been pivotal in elevating her play.

“Moving to Boca and regularly playing with the pro players really helped my game so much,” she said. 

However, Sleeth has had to step away from training to recover from hip surgery following an injury she sustained during singles play at the Walgreens Open in Las Vegas in August 2025.

“At PPA Vegas, I hit one too many slides that turned into a split against Kate Fahey, and it just started hurting ever since then,” she explained. “I continued playing for a few months until I finally got X-rays and MRIs and found out I fully tore my labrum.”

Sleeth is currently performing at around 60%, but aims to be fully recovered by March for the Greater Zion Cup at Black Desert Resort.

Building on her momentum before the injury, Sleeth’s goal for 2026 is to earn a medal in doubles and return to competitive singles play.

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