Imagine getting paid to play pickleball. A national call for elite pickleball players went out last fall for the reality series "Pickleball Paddle Battle." Sixteen contestants will paddle their way to the top prize — a professional sponsorship.
One of the competitors is Keven Wong from Oʻahu. He's a champion in the local pickleball community and is known affectionately as the “trick shot maestro.” He started playing in 2017.
"One day a bunch of guys from church asked if I wanted to go play pickleball. At the time, I had no idea what pickleball was — never heard of it, never seen it before," he said.
The rest is history. Wong is the first resident pickleball pro at the Waialae Country Club. He also teaches classes for the Oahu Pickleball Association.
"Whenever someone learns a new shot or gets excited about being able to keep a rally going, that keeps me motivated to continue teaching, to continue helping others to play pickleball," Wong said.
The quick increase in the popularity of pickleball has led to tension with tennis players who don't want to lose court space and time.
"I grew up playing tennis pretty much my whole life since I was 7 all the way through college," Wong said. "I definitely do see both sides, even though I'm on more of the pickleball side these days. But I definitely can relate to both sides in terms of not having enough court space and just kind of wanting both pickleball and tennis players to be happy."
"Pickleball Paddle Battle" wrapped up production in November, but it has yet to be picked up by a television network. ʻIolani alum Ace Rodrigues, the founder of the indoor pickleball company Pickleball Kingdom, is the series creator.
Fun fact: Pickleball started in 1965 in Washington state when a trio of families created a game using a badminton net, ping pong paddles, and a plastic wiffle ball to entertain their bored kids. The name was inspired by the “pickle boat,” a rowing term used when a last-minute crew is created randomly from leftover rowers.
This story aired on The Conversation on March 28, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
