Jack Sock readies for pro pickleball debut in Charlotte

“Tennis players won’t be able to come in and dominate pickleball doubles within a year, period. Doesn’t matter who they are, (Alcaraz, Djokovic, etc.),” Christian Alshon said. “Would tennis pros surpass current pickleball pros, 100%, but it would take at least a year of serious training.”

Although there are some pickleball players with past tennis experience, Alshon is among the select few aware of the serious training needed to make the transition right away: He is a former top junior tennis player who then led the University of Chicago to the NCAA Division III National Championship just last May. The 22-year-old is now a full-time pickleball pro and ranked No. 11 in singles on the PPA Tour after picking up the sport just 11 months ago.

“Elite tennis players have spent years, more likely decades, wiring their brains to hit tennis strokes,” Alshon said. “In doubles, pickleball strokes are different. Tennis players, like myself, need months to undo their tennis wiring and reprogram it towards pickleball strokes (e.g. the dink - unlike any shot in tennis). In order for tennis players to succeed at pickleball, they need to realize that they’ve got to start with the basics in pickleball by taking steps back in order to take major steps forward.”

Both the tennis and pickleball communities will be very intrigued to see how Sock fares this week. The action can will be live from May 4-7 on both tennischannel.com and the Tennis Channel app.