The love of pickleball continues to grow, with the sport still booming in popularity nearly a decade after becoming more mainstream. Whether it’s the low barrier to entry — nearly anyone, regardless of their age or level of athleticism, can pick up a paddle and play — or the social effect, people everywhere are embracing the game.
More recently, the competition has been ramping up, with professional pickleball players getting increased recognition for their performance in elite competitive play.
Two such players are Hannah Blatt and Grayson Goldin. Blatt, 26, is currently signed on the Carvana PPA (Professional Pickleball Association) Tour and ranked No. 25 in the world in singles; Goldin, 30, is signed with the UPA (United Pickleball Association) and ranked No. 2 on the APP (Association of Pickleball Players) Tour in singles and No. 23 on the PPA. The two also happen to be dating.
As Blatt and Goldin are preparing to compete in the LT Open — Life Time’s inaugural national singles pickleball tournament — this October, they share how they made their way into the sport and what they’re doing to stay at the top of the rapidly evolving competitive scene.
Finding Community in Sport
Before picking up pickleball, Blatt played squash, another fast-paced racquet sport that’s played in an enclosed court with a rubber ball and a stringed racquet.
Squash made life colorful and dynamic for Blatt, who grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and traveled all over the world as a competitive junior Canadian squash player. This segued to competing on the Division I squash team at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa., where she was captain of the team and set the record for most wins in a single season.
After graduating in 2021, Blatt pursued squash professionally and went on to represent Canada at the World Games and become a three-time medalist at the Pan American Games.
In 2023, at the highest level of a sport she’d dedicated most of her life to, Blatt found herself at a bit of a standstill. “I was burnt out,” she says. “I had hit a lull in my sports career, and I had to put a pause on it.”
At the time, she was training at a squash facility in Florida where she noticed the surging popularity of pickleball. Many of the people around her — including her parents and grandparents — were avid pickleball players. In a bid to make new connections, Blatt exchanged her racquet for a paddle.
“I’d never really thought much of pickleball because I was so involved with squash,” she explains. “But I wanted to make new friends while also finding a hobby outside of my sport.”
She joined a random game at a local court, and, to no surprise, the rhythm of pickleball came naturally to her. “I recall joking, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll just do pro pickleball!’”
Not long after, she enrolled in her first pro pickleball tournament in New York. She did “OK” at the event, but it reinvigorated her love of competing. It also provided community — something she craved in squash. “Pickleball allowed me to be social while still getting to be competitive,” she says.
Currently on the PPA Tour, Blatt has been competing professionally in pickleball for the last three years and has her eyes set on being a top-10-ranked player in singles. She’s also a full-time content creator on Instagram and YouTube, where she shares her life on the road as a pro pickleball player along with fitness and lifestyle content.
Is squash completely out of the cards for Blatt? “No,” she says, “but there’s just more opportunity in pickleball right now.”
Seeing the way pickleball has exploded pushes her to better herself, she says. “Even the pros who were really good four years ago aren’t the best anymore, because there are people playing now who have put in more time, more effort, and they want to be the best — it’s pushing everyone to get better.
“I’m very lucky with my timing in this sport,” she adds. “It’s cool watching the pro level grow, as well as the amateurs and the communities all around it. Plus, with all these new pickleball facilities opening up, everything is just funneling together.”
Revitalizing a Love of Competing
Like Blatt, Goldin didn’t pick up a pickleball paddle until a few years ago — his upbringing was dedicated to playing tennis.
Goldin’s ability to swing a tennis racquet with rapid precision got him noticed at a young age: At 16, he earned a scholarship to IMG Academy, a boarding school in Florida that provides elite training for athletes. Goldin rose to be the No. 1 junior tennis player in the United States and then continued to compete at the Division I level with both the University of Alabama and Florida State University.
In 2018, however, he decided to exchange the tennis racquet for a real-estate license and desk job. “I was pretty sick of tennis and burnt out — the love I had for the sport when I was young had just petered out.”
Goldin recalls encountering pickleball — or “this weird sport,” as he described it — around 2019, but he didn’t start getting into it until he saw how fruitful it could be for networking. “Every morning, I’d go to the country club and play with a group at 8 a.m. for real-estate leads,” he says.
Over time, Goldin began to learn more about the landscape of pickleball, discovering things like DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating) levels. “And that’s when I found out about the tournaments,” he says.
Goldin enrolled in two tournaments in 2021, one with the APP and the other with the PPA. He didn’t make it far in those tournaments, but it exposed him to a higher level of pickleball play. He still, however, continued to focus on his real estate career. “I put pickleball to the side and didn’t think about it; I had to work,” he says.
In 2023, during a pickleball game centered around networking, Goldin’s opponent remarked that he should try playing professionally due to his high level of skill. The timing was perfect, as pickleball was skyrocketing in popularity.
In August 2023, Goldin purchased a ticket to see an MLP (Major League Pickleball) competition in person and saw firsthand the level of investment being poured into the sport. “After that, I was full-time pickleball,” he says.
“I had spent my whole life competing,” says Goldin. “But the break I had allowed me to reflect on my tennis career and where I came up short. Competing in pickleball feels like a second chance.”
Goldin is especially drawn to the energy he gets from the spectators. “My favorite thing in the world is to entertain, and to be able to compete at the highest level of something and say you’re playing the best in the world, while being one of the best in the world — it doesn’t seem real to me.”
As the No. 2 ranked player in singles in the PPA, Goldin is diligently striving for the No. 1 seat over the next year. He’s also documenting his journey through Instagram and YouTube with plans to launch a community group called Team Goldin to share his pickleball insights and tips. “I had to learn everything about the sport the hard way, and I want to share what I’ve learned with my community,” he says.
“The more tournaments I go to, the more junior pickleball players I see. I don’t know how big pickleball is going to get, but to be a part of its growth is so exciting,” Goldin says.
Prepping for the LT Open
October 2025 marks the launch of the LT Open, a singles pickleball tournament for elite players from all associations that is taking place at Life Time in Peachtree Corners, Ga. Hosted by Life Time in cooperation with the PPA, the tournament has an industry-leading $50,000 grand prize for each bracket and a $250,000 total prize purse.
“The LT Open is going to be huge,” says Goldin. “I think spectators are going to witness a lot of pressure, excitement, grit, and fight.”
Pickleball is known for being a partner sport, but singles play is quickly growing in popularity and attention, particularly at the elite level. Goldin says singles pickleball is a bit of a different game: “You get to use your athleticism a lot more in singles,” he says. “It demonstrates a player’s ball-striking ability, whereas in doubles, a player might be able to get away with not having drives.”
Singles is also a game of mental fortitude. “You don’t have a partner cheering you on,” he adds, “so you have to be a little more mentally tough and a little more gritty.”
Blatt is excited for the opportunity to hone her singles strategy and ball placement while preparing for and competing in the LT Open. “I’m very excited to play in a singles-focused tournament,” she says. “It’ll be tough, but I’m ready to compete.”
Leading up to the LT Open, Blatt is working on her groundstrokes, serves, returns, and passing shots — all of which are key in singles, she says. “Normally before tournaments I like to play more games rather than run drills to get into a rhythm and create patterns on the court,” Blatt says.
She also doesn’t go as hard in the gym to ensure her body is healthy and ready to compete. “Leading up to tournaments, my nutrition, sleep, and recovery are the priorities,” she says.
Goldin adds that he’s been waiting for an opportunity like the LT Open. “I love playing pickleball at Life Time clubs and I love the LT Pro 48 pickleball — it really is a good ball!
“When I first heard of Life Time potentially hosting a singles tournament, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope this actually happens,” he says. “I’m just excited for this chance.”
3 Pro Tips for Pro Pickleball Play
For those looking to get into the world of professional pickleball tournaments and more competitive play, Blatt and Goldin offer the following tips.
1. Lean on your support system.
Being a pro pickleball player means there’s rarely an off-season with touring: You’re often jetting from one tournament to the next, running drills, negotiating business deals, practicing, and more. Blatt and Goldin, who have been dating for more than a year, note that finding balance doesn’t come easy, but they lean on each other to fill the gaps.
“Pickleball has a strong community, but it can be lonely too,” says Blatt. “Having a partner competing at the same level as you allows for mutual understanding.” The two travel together, help refine the other’s technique, and show up at each other’s tournaments.
“When you’re on the court, there’s nothing like seeing a familiar face in the stands.”
2. Stay strong off the court.
What you do off the court is just as important as what you do on the court, according to these two pros. That means diversifying your activity. For Blatt, that looks like going on runs, incorporating mobility work, doing Pilates, golfing, and lifting weights.
“Sticking to a solid routine that focuses on my nutrition, rest, recovery, and practice, while keeping my mental state at its best is very important,” says Blatt. “I like to journal to keep track of my thoughts and progress and update my goals to hold myself accountable.”
Goldin also tries to hit the gym as often as possible along with partnering with a personal trainer and chiropractor, which he says is key to preventing injury. “If your muscles get overworked, you start overcompensating,” he explains. “I’m not trying to hit PRs every time with weightlifting; I’m trying to maintain healthy muscle so my body won’t fatigue and break down.”
3. Prioritize self-care when possible.
While cycling between training weeks and tournaments, both Blatt and Goldin make time to prioritize rest and self-care. For them, this could mean a multitude of things, like cooking at home after a week on the road, using the sauna and cold plunge (Blatt’s personal favorite) for muscle recovery, or simply just going on a date.
“It can get crazy being on the road all the time,” says Blatt. “Competing is a privilege, but it’s important to take the time for self-care too.”
