A UNC medical student is surprising the professional pickleball world
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Collin Shick, a first-year med student at UNC, plays in the PPA's Florida Open. Photo courtesy of the PPA
A UNC medical school student has made unexpected waves on the professional pickleball circuit.
Driving the news: Earlier this month, Collin Shick, a former tennis player at N.C. State, made it all the way to the finals of the Professional Pickleball Association's Florida Open. He played the No. 1 ranked player in the world, Ben Johns.
- What made it remarkable is that Shick, 23, was only in his third tournament and came into the tournament as the 54th seed.
- He went from playing in qualifiers as a first-year med student to facing up against "the undeniable GOAT" in the pickleball world, he told Axios.
State of play: Pickleball's popularity has grown significantly in the past two years, including in the Triangle.
- But it's just now coming into its own as a professional sport, attracting new sponsorships and athletes like Shick.
- "I think the ceiling for pickleball is just really unknown," he told Axios, noting his college teammates poked fun at him when he first took up the sport.
Zoom in: Shick's drop shot — something he took from his tennis days — was noted by many as helping him advance at the Florida Open. It even gave Johns some trouble before the world No. 1 eventually took control of the game.
- Shick said there's still a lot of room to create new styles of play in the young sport.
- "There's new shots being invented every tournament — even shots so you don't you don't see in tennis," he said.
What they're saying: Shick said the Triangle is home to a lot of great players and places to try to sport out.
- "The issue is it's so popular now the best places to play are the busiest," he said.
- "But if you don't mind waiting, Cary Tennis Park is great as well as Method (Community Park) in Raleigh."
What's next: Shick said his No. 1 priority is still studying medicine, but he has plans to enter into more tournaments and is in conversations with several companies who'd like to sponsor him.
- His next tournament will be in Charlotte in May for the North Carolina Open.
Go Deeper: Raleigh developers are placing a big bet on pickleball