At the top of his game coming fresh out of 2 MLP Championships for the 2022 Season, the 6’2 Adidas Pro Rafa Hewett, 28, is eager to make his mark in the 2023 PPA/MLP Season as well.
Rafa is the one of the most vocal, determined, and motivated Professional Pickleball Players on the tour. His dedication to the sport and his willingness to never back down from any competition proves his inspiring spirit. Hewett has been making waves in the professional scene, with success and podium finishes in the 3 years he has been playing pickleball at the professional level. His achievements in Pickleball include, but are not limited to; 2x MLP Champion, 4x MLP Finalist, PPA Atlanta Open Silver in Men’s Pro Singles, Gold in both Mixed and Men’s Doubles at APP Alabama Classic, several bronze medals in all pro events, also finishing in 5th, also referred to as back draw champ, on multiple occasions. His determination to never walk away from an opponent or give up on a point is what keeps his fans coming back for more. As Director of Pickleball at Moore’s Mill Country Club, Hewett has developed a Junior Pickleball Academy that is continuously growing each week. He is focused on the next generation and believes the sport of pickleball will continue to grow if we begin pouring into the younger
Born in Bradenton, Florida, Rafa was a natural born athlete. He attended Bollettieri Tennis Academy and competed at a high level. Throughout his childhood and teenage years Hewett’s main focus was tennis, yet he also played basketball and ran cross country. In 2012, Rafa held the title of #1 in the State of Idaho and Top 10 in the Pacific NorthWest for Juniors Tennis. Hewett played 4 years of collegiate tennis at Point University in West Point, Georgia as the team captain of the tennis team. He helped lead his collegiate team to Nationals in his career there.
2026 Opendoor Pickleball World Championships
Bracket Completed
Match #20
Nov 2
CC Eleven Sacca, Rafa Hewett
G1
11
-3
G2
11
-3
Sam Libo, Polina Libo
G1
11
3
G2
11
3
Match #40
Nov 2
CC Eleven Sacca, Rafa Hewett
G1
11
-8
G2
11
-9
Austin Bricker, Helena Jansen
G1
11
8
G2
11
9
Match #50
Nov 2
Allie Reichert, Wade Heerboth
G1
2
-11
G2
7
-11
Rafa Hewett, CC Eleven Sacca
G1
2
11
G2
7
11
Bracket Completed
Gold:
John Lucian Goins
Silver:
Jack Sock
Bronze:
Bracket Completed
Match #9
Nov 3
Rachel Rohrabacher, Christian Alshon
G1
11
-4
G2
11
-2
Rafa Hewett, CC Eleven Sacca
G1
11
4
G2
11
2
Gold:
Anna Leigh Waters / Ben Johns
Silver:
Jorja Johnson / JW Johnson
Bronze:
Bracket Completed
Match #30
Nov 4
Rafa Hewett, Luc Pham
G1
11
-3
G2
12
-10
Caden Nemoff, Maverick Messinger
G1
11
3
G2
12
10
Match #46
Nov 4
Collin Johns, Len Yang
G1
9
-11
G2
11
-2
G3
10
-12
Rafa Hewett, Luc Pham
G1
9
11
G2
11
2
G3
10
12
Match #54
Nov 6
Riley Newman, Noe Khlif
G1
11
-13
G2
11
-0
G3
11
-4
Rafa Hewett, Luc Pham
G1
11
13
G2
11
0
G3
11
4
Gold:
Tama Shimabukuro / JW Johnson
Silver:
Andrei Daescu / Christian Alshon
Bronze: