Some pickleball players have their staple looks.

Jessie Irvine, for example, was known for her trademark space buns on the court. 

Then came the Veolia North Carolina Open in early April when Irvine arrived on site at Cary Tennis Park with a bouncy ponytail instead.

At first, I didn’t recognize her.

And then I worried it was a bad case of uncooperative hair (which is literally the worst).

But then at both MLP Orlando and MLP Columbus, the space buns were still missing in favor of the ponytail.

So, what exatly happened? 

“I’m from North Carolina and my family still lives there. During the North Carolina tournament, my sisters convinced me to get some highlights, and initially I wanted to go blonde,” said Irvine. 

Blonde? Was she about to pull a Tyler Loong at the Las Vegas PPA Championships?

“But once I went to my hairstylist, she convinced me not to go all blonde because it’s harder to maintain, and when it grows out, I’ll have that weird line where my roots will show,” added Irvine. 

And because she travels so much for pickleball, it’s especially tough for her to sustain such a dramatic hairstyle without those pesky roots showing. 

“With highlights, it’s a lot more blendable and looks more natural when they grow out,” said Irvine. “Once I got my hair highlighted and shaped, my sister was like ‘You can’t put your hair back in the buns because no one will see the highlights. You did all this work, so let it out and show it off.’”

With that in mind, Irvine debuted the ponytail in the Tar Heel State and it remained.

“After a few tournament days of wearing my hair in a ponytail, I realized it was so much easier to just throw my hair up in a ponytail. It’s more of a laziness thing. Putting my hair into two space buns is a lot of work, and a ponytail is just so much easier,” she explained.

Her hair looks pretty amazing, right?

“I did space buns for two years and it was time for something new,” emphasized Irvine. “A lot of people at tournaments keep giving me a double take because I’ve done the space buns for so long, but I actually used to wear my hair like this back in the day, so it’s a nice change.”

Though Irvine’s space buns were memorable and a major part of her signature look, sometimes it’s good to switch things up. The new highlights are perfect for the summer months, and the low maintenance style is even better for busy tournament days. 

And you can never go wrong with a classic ponytail. 

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