Jocelyn “Jay” Devilliers, often referred as the Flying Frenchman, has shot to the top of the sport in all three divisions. He has proven himself to be one of the most fiery and exciting players to watch and is one of the most popular professional pickleball players on tour. Fans visiting tournaments on-site do not have to spot Devilliers in action to know that he is on-court, thanks to his trademark “come on!” and steady positive communication with his partners. Devilliers consistently earns himself a spot in tournament finals and regularly places on the podium in all three events. He claimed his first Mixed Doubles title in 2021 alongside Jessie Irvine at the PPA Championship in Las Vegas.
During his childhood in France, Devilliers competed in a variety of sports including soccer, tennis, handball, swimming, squash, badminton, table tennis and skiing. He excelled in tennis and soccer particularly. Ultimately, Devilliers chose tennis and left his home country for Barcelona, Spain where he trained intensively from 2009-2012 to achieve his dream of becoming a professional tennis player. While there, he completed his high school diploma and met his future wife and fellow tennis player Aleksendra.
Sadly, after a severe injury, Devilliers’ ability to compete at the professional level became uncertain, and he made the decision to accept a college tennis scholarship in the United States. In 2013, Devilliers joined the men’s tennis team at Wichita State University. After graduating, Devilliers was introduced to pickleball and started competing as a hobby in 2019. He quickly realized that pickleball had a great many similarities to tennis, allowed him to take advantage of his natural abilities, and didn’t take as much of a physical toll on his body as tennis. He began competing full-time and hasn’t looked back since, citing pickleball as his new passion. Devilliers travels year round to maximize his
PPA Tour: Indoor National Championships
Bracket Completed
Gold:
Hunter Johnson
Silver:
Christopher Haworth
Bronze:
Roscoe Bellamy
Bracket Completed
Match #4
Jan 20
Jessie Irvine, Jay Devilliers
G1
11
-3
G2
11
-2
Eli Steiner, Simone Leonard
G1
11
3
G2
11
2
Match #33
Jan 21
Jessie Irvine, Jay Devilliers
G1
11
-9
G2
11
-6
Mohaned Alhouni, Genie Erokhina
G1
11
9
G2
11
6
Match #48
Jan 22
Jessie Irvine, Jay Devilliers
G1
9
-11
G2
8
-11
Matt Wright, Lucy Kovalova
G1
9
11
G2
8
11
Gold:
Tyra Hurricane Black / Christian Alshon
Silver:
Anna Bright / Hayden Patriquin
Bronze:
Parris Todd / Andrei Daescu
Bracket Completed
Match #18
Jan 21
Pablo Tellez, Jay Devilliers
G1
11
-1
G2
11
-0
Caden Nemoff, Aanik Lohani
G1
11
1
G2
11
0
Match #28
Jan 22
Pablo Tellez, Jay Devilliers
G1
11
-8
G2
11
-4
Riley Newman, Will MacKinnon
G1
11
8
G2
11
4
Match #35
Jan 24
Andrei Daescu, Gabriel Tardio
G1
11
-2
G2
6
-11
G3
11
-5
Pablo Tellez, Jay Devilliers
G1
11
2
G2
6
11
G3
11
5
Gold:
Andrei Daescu / Gabriel Tardio
Silver:
Christian Alshon / Hayden Patriquin
Bronze:
Eric Oncins / Dylan Frazier