Elliott Schupp just won his first gold on the PPA Tour at the Mojo Energy Pouches Virginia Beach Open in men’s doubles alongside Jaume Martinez Vich. If you were like me, watching the action on Pickleballtv and wondering who is this new face on tour? Schupp recently went on a podcast with Friday Pickleball to share his story.  

The 19-year-old signed with the PPA Tour earlier this year, and within just a few months, he already has pickleball pros and fans predicting that Schupp will be the best left-handed player in the world in the near future.  

Schupp started playing pickleball when he was 12 years old with his grandpa in Arkansas, but he took his time developing his game into the offensive player he is today.

“I played baseball for 10 years and I was getting burnt out towards the end of it,” Schupp began.

His grandpa suggested that they try pickleball.

“I gave it a shot and pickleball was just super fun. For the first two years I played maybe once a week at the local rec center, just having fun. And then when I quit baseball, that’s when I got more into pickleball,” Schupp said.

“Not many people know this but at 12 years old, my life’s mission was to be a 4.0 pickleball player,” said Schupp. “And it took me two to three years to get to 4.0. After I hit 4.0, I decided to try and go pro.”

Schupp’s grandpa was extremely careful about Schupp potentially getting burnt out with pickleball if he played too much or put too much pressure on the game. So they took their time with training.

“My grandpa is a big believer in me not getting burnt out, so we didn’t rush things. For the first couple years, I wasn’t allowed to play more than twice a week because he knew I got burnt out with baseball and he didn’t want it to happen with pickleball,” Schupp explained.

“I’m so thankful for that because I love the sport and I’m super addicted now. I haven’t had a moment yet where I think ‘Gosh, I want to stop.’ The more I play, the more I want to play, and I think that’s because of him,” said Schupp.

Over time, Schupp’s grandpa has become his coach.

“My grandpa is like my coach. He’s coached me through everything. We watch the matches and look at what’s winning points and what’s losing me points. Then we fix whatever it is that I’m losing points on. And we’ve done that approach for a while. He’s helped me through all of this and I would not be anywhere without him,” Schupp said.

Schupp later moved to Phoenix, AZ, a hotspot where quite a few pros, high-level players, and coaches reside, to get more training. But Schupp credits his career’s skyrocket to his grandpa.

Currently, Schupp has won a gold in mixed and men’s doubles on the PPA Challengers Tour, made it to the quarter-finals at the Rate Las Vegas Open next to Kiora Kunimoto, and now secured his first gold on the pro tour.

Schupp has officially secured himself as a pro to watch.

To keep up to date on all things pickleball, follow us on Instagram.