The RISE of James Ignatowich | Pickleball Skillsets, Strategy, and Tactics

All right welcome to the bionis pickle ball podcast my name is Jordan bionis your host and today we have a super special guest um top five player top five duber player in the world uh I’ll take it James igno James igno thank you for having me on I’ve watched a few of these I’ve always been a fan of the podcast and uh you know I was begging.

You to let me on I saw you at the tournament I was like Jordan you got to let me on the podcast thank you yeah it didn’t really go that way but uh but I do appreciate it man and uh I do appreciate you coming um right after or actually Championship Sunday just finished so yep appreciate you coming on um well where do we go where do we go.

From here man it was my first championship Sunday of the year that I wasn’t playing which is actually a sort of a good thing but a bad thing because we made the finals in the first two tournaments an and I and then in the semis I uh hurt my shoulder in well I had obvious I had a shoulder issue all week and I tried to play through it and.

Then is that rotator cuff or what it’s like front shoulder it’s I mean in in a couple days when I get with my trainer I’ll know but Minnesota’s in question it might be oh really for sure I I wow I think it’s doubtful Minnesota and Austin unfortunately I think it’ll be a little bit um but it is what it is and then I played men’s I played through it in the.

Men’s semi and I probably shouldn’t have because I think I made it worse but it is what it is now I’m here and this is where I want to be the the Bion podcast all right well hey I appreciate it man and uh I’ve been following I have been following your game uh since you’ve been on the scene and yeah we could get into a lot of uh different topics uh you know.

If you’re listening to this podcast we’re going to get into a lot of teaching stuff because actually you do a good amount of teaching and we we’ll talk about that but um first James I know I’m controlling this at the same time but but to start off uh I don’t know that much about you I do know that um you played some pretty high level.

Tennis and uh why don’t you tell the viewers uh you know and I know sorry if you’ve gone over this before but like what’s your background just briefly uh how didd you get into the sport and uh yeah we’ll just go from there man yeah should I uh should I look at that camera or should I look at you you can look at me if you want to talk to an audience.

You can look right there okay I might I might flip between camera and you I might decide yeah if I’m not liking you I’ll go to the and then uh yeah so I played tennis my whole life I was when I was 5 years old I got put into tennis and my parents never played tennis they just put me into a bunch of sports uh my Dad ran uh track at Yukon D1 um he was.

Really fast he had some sort of record and something that’s been broken I don’t really know um I don’t really remember who cares like track you mean track or something yeah yeah something he was fast and um so I did that I I did uh sorry he did that then I just went right into a bunch of different sports I tried tennis um I tried I played basketball.

When I was younger and I was actually pretty good at basketball and tried everything and then for whatever reason I got really good at tennis I just had a talent for tennis so I wasn’t a kid whose parents like pushed him into tennis my parents played tennis it wasn’t like that I wasn’t like a prodigy I just was um just good at it and got uh.

To the point where I played Division One tennis at Vanderbilt and when I was in high out what state Tennessee got it yeah so I actually it was interesting because when I was you know 14 15 16 years old that was like my Prime in tennis like I was very good I got ATP points like professional points when you were you say when you were 16 yeah yeah.

So I was I was very good and I was actually I peaked at number five in the nation in tennis in juniors yeah Juniors so I was good so over like under 18 or how does that work at that time it was like um based on recruiting class this thing called tennis recruiting got it yeah but I think overall I mean I I had gotten like you know to the semis of.

Easter bowl like I was really good when I was 16 but then it all went downhill so uh I just started to kind of you know get into some stuff that maybe wasn’t conducive to being a successful uh anything I kind of got a little lazy and I got sidetracked um you know girls and stuff all that bad stuff you know and I uh so.

I I just didn’t I didn’t get any better since I was 16 and then in college I kind of was just kind of fizzled out I joined a fraternity and Vanderbilt’s a very fun school so so sorry real quick backing up you got so you did get a you did get a full ride scholarship to vanderville to play I didn’t get a full ride I got a scholarship but College.

Man’s tennis there’s only four and a half scholarships per team got it so my scholarship was um it was significant but it wasn’t 100% it often time happen in D1 tennis be like 80% scholarship whatever that might be got it so you weren’t the number one or two seed there no no got it okay unfortunately I mean it’s cuz talent wise and like where I.

Was as a recruit I very well could have been but I just didn’t live up to my potential and I was lazy and uh you know I just was off the team in two years college tennis wasn’t for me I joined a fraternity I had a lot of fun and my college career um tennis career was bad but my college experience was awesome I wouldn’t trade it for anything and uh.

It’s a big part of why I’m here today actually yeah so okay cool man all right so you did that and uh so so I’m assuming I’m guessing that you didn’t do four years of college tennis then oh no so when what did you do then just one year and out or like what was what happened yeah so my freshman year was the year of covid So Co happened in the.

Spring of my freshman year in college dude how how old are you 23 okay see man you’re young dude I thought you were older okay so co co still Co all right Co year was your so mature he thought I was old yeah maybe no so yeah I was a I was a freshman okay and so that didn’t happen and I wouldn’t have started anyway to be completely honest I was.

Already um just not doing the right things yeah not getting any massive trouble but I just was you know shown up late to practices and it was not good and then my sophomore year um I just ended up quitting the team I think it was a mix of me deciding that tennis really wasn’t working out for me it didn’t look like I was going to start.

And I wasn’t going to start and I never really like jumped into pickle ball it wasn’t something where I was like okay I’m going to quit tennis and just play pickle ball it was like okay I’m done with tennis now I’m going to just be a regular student and I was a regular student I gained like 25 lbs I was like 205 lbs really like like muscle or like.

Musle I I had like a beer belly what I was out of shape I looked horrible dude do we have any pictures of this no no even if they are out there I’m going to delete him no pictures I looked horrible and I just was I was in a fraternity and I was doing all the wrong things and I was getting good grades um that was the only thing I cared about just make sure.

I get good grad so I get a good job and then um yeah I was in bad shape and then my junior year of college and this is this is after Co now right like yeah yeah so this is two years ago now in 2021 okay in October of 2021 I was kind of it’s a little I I was kind of like lost I was just I didn’t know what I wanted to do I wasn’t doing.

Any physical activity um just a lot of short-term gratification and not really being responsible and then I saw pickle ball and I just you know was like okay I’ll play it because I was in South Florida so there was a lot of people that did play it picked up a paddle and I was like wow this is fun I never thought I was going to be a pro I didn’t.

Even know what being a pro was until like I was 4 months in I just I just was having a ton of fun and I got addicted to it organically so wait 2021 you’re saying the first time ever you played yes dude so you I didn’t know that so you you you have you haven’t really been playing that long no not long at all wow dude so we’re talking about 2021 of what.

Month October so less less than three years we’re talking about yeah I’ve been playing for two years and three months wow dude and for those who don’t believe me there’s some people that don’t believe me especially like a year ago cuz I got better pretty quick I’ve got like notes in my phone of you know I’ve kept like a a pickle ball Journal.

Because I was so in love with the game and I still am but I was so obsessed with it that I kept a journal that I would write in every day of like what I saw on YouTube like what did Ben John’s do on YouTube or what did Riley Newman hit on YouTube like and I would just watch and try to copy them did you watch did you come across any of my videos on.

YouTube oh yeah that’s why I’m on this podcast oh okay I no I was just wondering no no I mean I was mostly just watching the pros and like trying to just do that and and just um and this was this was when I was like maybe be six or seven seven months in when I really got serious with it but yeah all these notes I mean you’ll see like I I.

Lost in the finals of a four five men’s doubles in like in like May of 2022 dude that’s crazy people don’t realize that like it’s not a w hasn’t been a while so you were a four or five two years ago then would you say that yeah yeah I mean w is that the first so first tournament you entered was it 45 or 40 like what was it the first tournament I entered.

Was a was a 5 doubles in in dely Beach uh Florida and I was playing with with Evan Speck who is now the CEO of diadem really which is like you know not to shout out diadem who cares about dim but U it’s all cirk over here yeah but I uh so I was playing with him and he’s been a good it’s funny it’s it’s kind of a random connection because he actually.

Used to teach me tennis so for those who don’t know like the CEO of dim was my tennis coach when I was from like 13 to 17 years old and um now see um see I still don’t use the paddle so what does that say about diet and paddles no but CEO of a diend pick a ball part or just the whole entire oh wow yeah he he really it’s crazy I never.

Would have expected that he would have done it I used to think he was such a loser and then now he’s uh no I’m just kidding I mean I don’t know I don’t know how he did it but diam really it’s funny because I was I was 14 and he was coming up with the idea of diadem like in front of me like he was he was like yo I’m going to come up with this like tennis.

Racket company I was like like dude what are you doing you’re not wait when you were 14 yeah yeah he was coaching me the current oh see I thought diadem has been around longer than that I didn’t know that and he was like and and I remember all the guys at our Academy were like making fun of him we were like dude this is like some pie in the sky thing like.

You’re not going to make it now it’s a huge deal so I’m super proud of him not that I’ve ever told him that I’m not going to give that up yeah no okay that’s cool so yeah so you got into it really quickly man I so I did not know how um how long you really have been playing which is a really short time so okay so from there.

James what do you what do people call you is it James Jim Jimmy what do you go by dude that’s actually really good question and nobody’s asked me that question and really yeah nobody asks me that because I it’s usually from other people it’s James it’s always just been James but when I’m on the court and I’m talking to myself I call myself Jimmy I.

Don’t know why well is that what your parent your parents or friends no nobody ever called me Jimmy so wait so what wait wait what do your parents call you James everybody calls me James okay yeah it’s one syllable it’s EAS you don’t really need a nickname James turns into nickname Jimmy that’s one syllable turning into a two syllable nickname.

Makes no sense James is fine enough it’s easy enough but I uh I call myself Jimmy especially when I hit a good shot I’m like oh Jimmy people like what what does Anna call you James oh okay or no I’m just kidding can’t say what I was about to say all right or something else something else like like uh father figure of sorts there you go or.

Something okay um all right cool dude so you got in uh first uh what was your first kind of what was your F first win in um in pickle ball that you kind of knew like you found out about the pro scene what was your first win that you kind of knew oh I can compete with the very best so this is a this is a funny story I um I.

Had played a 45 and a -0 and whatever and then and I was still in college at the time I was a junior in college this was in you this was less than two years ago in the spring of 2022 and um I had just started dating Anna and Anna had had her big run in pun Gorda in February and she had become famous in the pickle ball Community.

Because Anna won the AP wait wait wait you guys started dating when in March of 2022 so yeah you were playing pickle ball already I was playing pickle ball but I wasn’t serious and you weren’t even uh she was yeah yeah so she okay got it so I wasn’t serious about pickle ball I was still in school I had just lost in like four or five and I wasn’t.

Really fully invested I was just having fun with it but she had just won AP pun Gord and everybody was talking about her it was all like you know everybody remembers like Anna Bri in her second tournament ever wins both singles and doubles wow and so that happened and then we were talking and she was like yeah there’s this PPA in Florida and.

It’s like a big pickle ball tournament you should play it and you should play singles for the first time I had never played singles yeah and I was like okay well it’s a good good chance to be with Anna hang out with Anna and see what happens and first round I get out there and it’s a guy named Thomas Wilson first round of singles I had no idea who he.

Was um I knew that he was a high seed and back then there was no qualifying I just signed up for pro and got into Pro and I ended up winning the match in straight sets and it was like maybe I had practiced singles like five times before then and I just um I think that was the one of the last singles matches that Thomas played actually I think I.

Might have retired Thomas but anyway so I I I played Thomas I didn’t realize it was a good win I just you know I thought wow the guy’s got a pretty silky forehand yeah handsome guy Thomas Wilson is that was really all the thing I was thinking about then I play AJ ker second round and I won that one also and then I lost to Tyson in the quarters and was.

Was it close Tyson no not close I got waxed by Tyson I just wasn’t um I think I was actually physically drained like my third sing because when you’re getting started in singles it’s tough I was like oh not that I would have won anyway but I got destroyed and um then it was only until people after the tournament were like James you you beat.

Thomas Wilson you beat AJ Coler in your first tournament like that’s amazing and I I guess I I was like okay um so that that was it that that was it I was like let’s do it now really quick in that tournament did you not play mixed with Anna or no one or you didn’t play men’s either you just played singles uh I signed up for five men’s I played five.

Men’s and I think I I lost both oh two and out yeah I went two and out in five men wow okay um shout out to my boy Neil it was me and Neil we went out we went out bad we got destroyed so so from there you you kind of got a glimmer of of like what you could be but that was from that was from the singles perspective you never thought it was.

Like oh I could be really good at doubles then I didn’t think I would be good at doubles until maybe theate late summer maybe maybe like I don’t know it took me a while to believe that I would be good at doubles it’s funny like I see a lot of these guys they come from tennis and they think that they they’re a little.

Overconfident and they call it like pickle ball delusion they think they’re going to be better than they are I had like the reverse of that I I thought I had no chance cuz I never was good at doubles really in tennis I never played a lot of doubles see that’s crazy so you’re you’re saying you’re you’re a better singles player then in tennis way.

Better see that’s yeah most players well we’re seeing most players in the game I think today they’re good at doubles in tennis it’s usually a quicker transition but you’re saying it was the opposite opposite for you yeah yeah for me it was well I mean I think I think I just never played doubles in in tennis really I I played like a couple tournaments but.

That was it and I never had good feel in tennis and I never had good volleys and I never had good hands h how so it was weird I I was a guy in tennis who just had a big serve and I would just rip uh rip back hands you had to had decent volleys though no I had no volleys I had no ability to volley and that was what I was known for in tennis they were like.

Oh that guy’s got no hands he can’t volley the ball he can’t drop shot the ball he’s just got a big serve and a good backand my forehand was horrible because I had I it was broken like I it’s funny I would have been good at tennis been better at tennis if I had um just went about it the right way but I didn’t and my volleys were so bad so.

It’s actually funny like when well we’re going to have to get into that cuz that’s I don’t know how that’s possible dude yeah no and when I got into pickle and I had my first couple results all my friends from tennis were like wait it’s that easy James got good at pickle he’s like the last guy we would have thought that would have been good at a sport.

Like that wow okay so no I to answer your question I never thought I would have been good at doubles and I remember vividly at that PPA that first PPA I played where I had the singles results and I was like okay maybe I I knew I could be good at Singles but like where does that really take you and I watched the doubles and I was watching JW and.

Dylan play in the final against Riley and Matt yeah in that tournament in Florida and I was watching the the dinking and the volleys and I was like that’s just I don’t have that I’m just never going to be that good or even even the other guys like I was watching um Tyson and Jay yeah and I I just remember seeing and I was like wow these guys are.

Just they just have sick hands like this is what the top of pickle ball is I don’t have that talent and I I never thought I would be that good at doubles ever wow okay so that turned around quick huh yeah it just kind of snuck up on me one day I’m good at it it was weird okay well that’s interesting okay so uh.

Wow okay James well I don’t even know where to go from there dude so what do you think it so what do you think it was then so what flipped the switch then you you you didn’t you’re telling me you didn’t have the best hands in tennis you were like more a serving voler no not even sering voler Ser big serve big not even big forehand you’re just saying big.

Serve and then I just just grind just grinded okay I was known to never come in really yeah yeah so uh how did it so how did you develop what you what you are today then obviously uh some of your strengths in the game I would say is falling en countering MH and um and speedups as well so how did that happen then what do you think well I think it’s.

It’s weird I I just I did it so many times I played so much and I was so engaged when I played at first because I I was and this is kind of this might not land for some people but I’m pretty sure that this is what happened um when I played tennis I was always trying to get better and I was always focused on improving things and I was thinking okay.

Because I really cared in tennis and I really thought that I could be good so I would think okay this on the forehand this on the volley and this and I was thinking too much and in pickle I was like look I’m never going to be the best doubles player I don’t really have the hands I’m just going to have fun and just fully engross myself in every.

Doubles practice I used to just care more about singles CU I was a single specialist and that’s how I thought I would always be yeah so then when I play doubles I would just have so much fun and I would just be so engrossed in the game not thinking a single thing that then next thing you know I’m like picking up on patterns my hands are.

Getting a lot faster and Anna Lee actually said it to me it was weird cuz anal said this to me a week ago she was like James I remember like the first time we practiced cuz she lives right near me um she’s like the first time we practiced you had no hands you couldn’t even volley the ball and then like two months later you’re like and I was like.

Yeah I don’t know how it happened I just I don’t know wow yeah wow dude that’s crazy man um okay well actually there is one thing that I did so I used to not really have a great backhand punch in terms of power and now some people you’re talking about pick ball yeah yeah like and now some people would say maybe that’s one of my better shots I think it.

Is just just the backhand counter yeah and I can hit it really hard now yeah um I just did wrist workouts like five times a week so really I used to what uh how what’s a wrist workout so here here let’s pretend this is a this is a weight can the camera see it so I used to do like I would take a 10 weight this one two to 10 and then this slow slow though.

Right yep and then this one oh really and I would do I would do it with a 10 pound weight and then I did it so much for like a year now I can take like a 35 and just go like that no way and people at the gym look at me they’re like what’s wrong with you man it’s literally 35 so like I’ve done it so much my forearm and R strength really dude so.

That is where J Jay du must have like a 55 or something he must be something like that yeah or he’s doing something he’s doing something else yeah wow sure I got to start doing that though that’s totally it’s a huge huge thing I mean wrist strength forarm strength is huge in pickle ball wow dude yeah okay interesting uh Jimmy I’ll call you I’ll.

Call you Jimmy you can call only only Bronies can call me Jimmy yeah there you go I’ll call Jimmy Jim does anyone call you Jim no no one huh people my dad is named Jim oh he’s James but people call him Jim so are you like technically the second no because we have different middle names in my is that how it works you have to have the same middle name oh.

See I didn’t know that and my dad is the same first and middle name as JW James Walter so he’s JW Ignat that’s my dad yeah but but but um JW’s middle name is not Walter yeah it is it is yeah yeah yeah that’s what I’m saying JW is your dad technically well after this weekend okay all right all right how about we take a little intermission and.

We um we just uh give a shout out to our sponsor uh one of the things that um that is similar between us James besides our our duper score and our skills is we’re both uh sponsored by selker yes yes we are so uh selker thank you for all you do um what do you like about speak yeah go ahead uhad cerk is huge for me because they before I had.

Any doubles results they offered me a great deal and they believed in me early and um I’ve always been just from that just from that one tournament or no was back in August of 2022 okay so I was still I wasn’t even a top 25 doubles player but they they hooked me up and they gave me the opportunity to have my own podcast which is not as good as this.

One obviously but I mean to have my own podcast and they’ve always been so easy to work with um and of course you might think I’m just saying that but I think anybody that’s worked with selker who or who has been sponsored by cerk would say like they’re just the best guys most genuine guys um Colin Cooper Rob Mike across the board just great people.

Awesome man well soer thank you thanks for all you do um what are you swinging nowadays are you you got you’re Power air inor right yes yes okay were were you swinging the um you were swinging the2 at some point yes yes or no yeah so I was I was using the O2 from March of 2023 until November of 2023 and then and this was maybe one of the better things.

That’s happened to me yeah so why why the switch I guess so it failed uh the O2 started failing because all the paddles were failing it wasn’t the o2’s fault right nothing’s sterk’s fault but the o2s were failing and they failed at Nationals so wow I or they failed at MLP first so I had to switch cuz every single O2 that I had failed I brought.

Eight of them they all failed so I had to go to pickle ball Central and then buy um Power airs and I wanted to get the Katherine color ones but they felt a little less gritty so I got these pink and purple Power airs and it so you had to you’re saying you had to switch mid tournament the day before the tournament started wow okay so you had one day to.

Practice basically yeah and then I went undefeated in men’s doubles with Jay and like went two and one in mix like I played great and then me and Tyler played great at Nationals and um from there my results have just been better so okay it was a good move because with the O2 I I just I mean it’s got so much power and it’s such a great battle but I.

Think the power air just gives me a little more control yeah it does have a tab bit more and I could use that bigger Sweet Spot yeah little bit sure yeah interesting man okay all right have you tried the Lux yes I tried the Lux way too soft huh uh it’s really soft I I think it would be you know what it might be I.

Think it might be a really good padle for singles because you can swing out you big swings if you have the power for it okay so like Chris Olen not not a guy like that yeah but like a guy like Jack sock for example like he could be um I mean I think that might be the best paddle for him because his arm is so live yeah and uh yeah I think the I.

Think the lookx is great it’s a lot like the O3 okay yeah no so so Jack talk obviously uh that was actually on my list to talk about what do you think about what do you think think about him coming in the game and just uh really quickly what do you think about uh what do you think of his ceiling how how high do you think he going to go so uh I’ve.

Kind of gone back and forth on this with Jack I’ve watched a lot you have a relationship with him uh not really I mean we’re cordial um I was a sort of a fan of his tennis game I I was never really a huge Watcher of tennis but he was a guy who I did watch sometimes in tennis cuz he was cool to watch he had he was a unique player his forehand was.

Unbelievable and it was just fun to watch him so I remembered him from tennis and um wasn’t like I idolized him in tennis but I was like that’s a cool guy and then in pickle ball we have like a you know I’ll say hi to him cordial relationship but no no friendship really but um I think his game is it’s it’s fun to watch I think I think one of the.

Things is I watch a lot of pickle ball and sometimes I’ll have to force myself to watch A Match just CU I want to learn about it but with Jack it’s never like that it’s like let’s go more Jack High he’s fun to watch his singles is mixed his men’s he’s doing these um like just crazy cobras like he dud is that is that is that is that the term well dude I I.

I’ve been seeing in Mesa I love it it’s like it’s it was one of the funniest things ever so he’s playing against like this this and it’s I sent this to a bunch of my friends he he’s playing against like so you got big like Jack sock right and then he’s playing against little like Sammy Lee like this nice unassuming kid oh yeah and then he goes.

Dude he’s he’s gotten good bro yeah I’m sure I’m sure he’s good I I haven’t played him in a while he goes Cobra Dink and then and then Cobra again like the highest Cobra you’ve ever seen and then just full bag right Sammy I I saw that I think I saw it’s awesome and I I mean you sort of got to feel bad for Sammy a little but it’s um but he’s dud wait who.

Called it that first I’ve never that’s is that a new term I think it was Dave Fleming who referred to was it Dave Fleming okay sh out to Da that’s the first time I heard hilarious dude but I think it’s yeah so I mean I I think as far as ceiling in men’s yeah it’s tough to say because I’m not really uh I’m not at my ceiling in men’s and I don’t know.

Really what it takes to to beat Ben and Colin or JW and Dylan because I haven’t done it well maybe if he maybe if he had a backhand you’d probably be number one by now right yeah I mean yeah exactly but like I think if he had a backhand is that what you’re saying yeah he would be I don’t know I’m glad he does he doesn’t really love his backhand but um yeah.

I’ve got like one win over Jade du and Dylan and men’s I haven’t really done it at the top so I’m not qualified to say really what I think of his men’s ceiling I think it takes so much patience in men’s and he might have the patience he might not it’s it’s tough I don’t know if I have the the patience or the wherewithal.

To stand in those like super precise intense dink rallies with a guy like Ben or JW but I can say that I know how to be really good at mixed and he be you think you’re a better a mixed player no question um I think that well I’m ranked number two in mixed and um yeah I’m not going to say like a subjective I’m better than this guy at mixer I’m not.

But I’m ranked number two and I’ve got you know a lot of stats to show for it I think medals wise over the calendar year I’ve got the second most or the you know I think there’s how many um so you didn’t cuz cuz Ben and analy pretty much won all year like like last year 2023 you didn’t you have any PPA Golds or no yeah so I got gold with Katherine.

In Minnesota in mixed oh you did and then I got gold and these are just mixed golds I got a singles gold at uh Minnesota and then men’s at TC and then I also got a golden mixed with Anna at Red Rock oh at Red Rock and was Ben and an so the two Golds that I have Ben and analy weren’t there okay so it’s kind of like you know does it really yeah yeah.

Okay but how many how many Silvers did you have that year like a lot I mean I’ve already got two this year yeah Silvers bronze um I mean me and Anna are extremely consistent like since Kansas City um which was in August um we haven’t done worse than the semis we’ve either done we’ve either done semis bronze or silver so uh and that’s a lot.

Of tournaments since then yeah dude but I mean that probably speaks more to Anna than me right I got to say that because an’s watching Anna but either way this isn’t about my mixed uh I think I think Jack has what it takes to be he could be I mean it’s tough I think he could definitely be a consensus top three I would like to say that if everything you.

Know if we both keep improving I think a guy like me or a guy like Jack might be improving at a faster rate than some of the guys who’ve been playing longer like like a JW who who’s also in that conversation in top mixed um yeah so maybe at the end of the year it’s like Ben me and Jack I don’t know I mean I I have no idea what’s going to happen but.

I can tell you that Jack’s ceiling is very high all right we’ll get the yeah we we we we we’ll see that um Partners uh you’re playing with Matt Wright and is that for the whole year of 2024 yes got it how did that come about and I’m trying to remember uh who you played with last year because you had different you might have had.

Different partners right so so how did how did the Matt right thing come up and who did you play with last year yeah so I started last year with Tyson and we yes okay yeah and it’s it’s funny you think back on it when I first started playing with Tyson playing the left in men’s in January of 2023 with Tyson I had picked up a paddle like 14 months.

Prior for the first time and I was a 4 five like eight months prior to that wow so I got thrown into the fire on the left and men’s and we didn’t have a ton of success and I think well how did how did that even I mean so you just started did T how does that work did Tyson text you or you texted him how did how did yeah I mean I think we were kind of.

Mutually going back and forth with each other but at the end of 2022 I had shown some potential I got bronze and men’s doubles with Steve Deacon I think I got a couple bronzes in mixed um so I was I was showing potential but I was far from a finished product and I couldn’t get to the kitchen at all and um I would I would push the serve in like this I.

Still didn’t really know what I was doing dude that’s so funny because um so obviously we talked about coaching at coach all the time but uh yeah I do remember now specifically in in a podcast talking about your serve specifically how like dude James needs to hit this he needs to hit he needs to hit his he needs to freaking hit his.

Serve in cuz that that was it before you were just like the tightest I was well not even tight just just like just getting it in though I’m just saying like no power is what I’m saying but now now you whack it dude yeah I know I know I just I I uh got some coones yeah it’s yeah so I had no I would push the serve in it’s funny you could actually if.

Anybody wants a good laugh you can go back to like 2023 in the beginning and I was hitting the serf softer than anyone like it was almost it was comical maybe even softer than Tyler L I’m not sure probably not maybe but yeah so it was me and Tyson in the beginning of the year and we didn’t have a ton we lost in the quarters a.

Bunch like it wasn’t bad but I just wasn’t ready and I it was we were losing mostly because I just wasn’t playing as good as I needed to be wow and um then we switched and we put me on the right and we put Tyson on the left and I actually felt good on the right and I was countering I played well we we had like four straight medals we got gold at.

To everything was going great and um I think you know for me the truth is that I did I dropped Tyson and you know I already caught some Flack for that it was uh not something I’m super proud of because Tyson has been so cool about it dropped them like what like like instantly or something no like he had notice and we kind of worked it out it.

Was sort of like we mutually worked it out in like the middle of the year um yeah so I mean it wasn’t like it wasn’t like other players who have just oh I’m not I’m just yeah yeah it wasn’t that bad I didn’t do it like that but um still I I think it was it was tough for me to do but I needed to have some variance in the sides that I was playing.

At that stage of my career cuz I still thought that I would by that time I was like okay I could end up being you know a top five player top three player and if I’m just playing the right every tournament in men’s it’s tough to get better you want those reps on the left and in the beginning of the year I wasn’t ready for it but by July I felt.

Like I was so you just yeah your your game just grew exponentially during that time yeah and if you got if you want to get better at Men’s doubles you got to be doing it from both sides different looks different partners I think getting getting those just having different looks is huge for your improvement you can’t do the same thing every time so so.

Right after Tyson you guys mutually um split was it was Matt next yeah it was I had a mix for the rest of the year it was Matt Tyler um I don’t know okay mad and Tyler if it’s if there’s anybody else I’m sorry that I’m forgetting that’d be pretty sad no worries mat oh Rafa huitt oh that’ be bad Rafa would kill me for that Rafa all.

Right all right so 2024 and you guys uh yeah I think you and Matt are playing well I know this um and by the way this is Championship Sunday just coming out out of the PPA Mesa and what we’ll we’ll get uh into that but uh so far what do you think uh grade yourself um letter grades uh you and Matt uh so far this year what would you what would you say.

And uh where could you you and Matt improve what do you think yeah so me and Matt have played five tournaments now and we have made it to the semis three times and lost in the quarters two times so I think it’s it’s decent like I think we we want to do better but these men’s doubles draws are tough you have great teams and to have made the semis three.

Times like right off the bat like this it’s not like we’re blowing it up and doing amazing uh but it comes down to me I think I’ve just got to be better because Matt is he’s played well he’s been solid he’s countered well and I think ultimately I would give myself like a b in men’s um I think in in mixed I’d give myself like an A minus or maybe.

Even in close to an a I’ve played very well in mixed overall why do you think you’re you’re better in mixed what what skills you think goes into to that because obviously right there are there are players that are way better in mix and it usually ends up being more of the stronger singles players that usually better in mix but it doesn’t doesn’t.

Always correlate like that so what makes you good better at mix do you think well I think it’s because I’m newer men’s doubles takes time and at the highest level you need a lot of reps you need tournament reps against these really good teams and I’ve only really been playing high level men’s doubles in these tournaments for like a year or.

Less wow and you just it just you need time to refine the soft stuff under pressure you know the thirds the fifths like this stuff is precise and it’s not easy and men’s Devils is I think the farthest from tennis than you know like okay so probably men’s singles is the closest and then mixed and then men’s doubles.

Because you’re saying men’s has way more dinks and yeah men’s doubles isn’t really that close to tennis like it’s closer to ping pong or something I don’t even know what it is but there’s there’s a lot of dinking and there’s strategy and I don’t even still get a lot of it I I mean men’s doubles is is a tough game mixed is an easy game mixed is very.

Simple even I can understand mixed re really so you explain it that’s really interesting cuz obviously we’re talking about top five player here and you’re or top 10 at least and men’s and you’re saying it’s a in mix top three yeah I know so so what’s what’s easy about mix then um what’s hard about it you just served it what’s hard about hey’re most.

Of these players are talk are like three five 40 we’re talking about I mean if we’re talking to it’s funny because you don’t want to give people the wrong advice because in wreck it’s different like you don’t want to take every ball from your partner in wreck you don’t want to be that guy so I don’t I’m not advising the the local players to just.

Go out there and just demolish your opponent like that’s but in the Pro game prom miixed is very simple for me I serve the ball almost as hard as I can I rip a drive at the girl and then I follow it in and then if I get a look at the kitchen line I’m going to pull the trigger and that’s it so there’s not a lot of thinking there’s not a lot of.

Soft stuff for me and um it’s just very natural for me so hopefully I think men’s maybe as this year progresses I’ll get more comfortable playing men’s but I’ve got more high level reps also in mixed cuz I was better at it earlier so I’ve played a I mean I had a gold last year in mixed at this time last year I was getting a gold with Katherine in.

Mixed so I’ve been good at mixed for a while in men’s a year ago I wasn’t that good at Men’s so I’m I’m still my men’s game still needs time wow man that’s cool um what’s it like what’s it like playing with uh with Anna it’s good she listens to what I say yeah like like um but but um playing with somebody who you’re also on in a relationship with.

What is that like any any challenges there um not really I think that it is uh it can be but I mean Anna and I we we just have been so successful on the court that it makes it a lot easier like if we were losing in the first round or the second round a lot like it could be a problem there might be some some issues at home would you guys I mean do.

You think you guys if it let’s say chemistry not in relationship but on the court was was different or something would you guys just you think you just not play with each other and get other partners um I think we would probably still play with each other because when we play against each other it’s just such a spectacle and everybody wants to.

See because the last time the last two times we played against each other I did win both of those I’d like to say I have the mental Edge over Anna uh because I might but anyway um the last time was Minnesota and that was a spectacle because I made it one that was my fault the whole big papa Jimmy thing and everybody I mean you I don’t know oh my.

Gosh we talked about that on the podcast yeah that was insane that was that was too much I looked back at that and I’m like wow is that you is that you today what do you mean like like that kind of the whole Papa Jimmy thing or do you think your that was nobody that was just a guy who had just had the best win of his life and I was like I was euphoric.

Oh you so you’re saying that was just like that was just all that was hype that was adrenaline and that was just let’s go I I made it I’m on the scene that’s hilarious yeah know that was that was one of the best it’s funny because like it’s a little embarrassing now I walk around people are like oh Big Papa Jimmy and I’m kind of tired of it like.

You know even some sometimes it’ll be like a 50-year-old man that’ll just be like oh is it that’s big daddy daddy I’ve got like older men calling me Daddy it’s a little weird and I’m if I could have erased it from the past I would have but there’s no denying that that day was one of the best moments of my life yeah and you’re talking about your.

First uh PPA what gold mix was that yeah that was the semis oh the semis yeah the final we we knew we were going to win pretty much we had we had um you and you and Katherine me and Katherine yeah I had Katherine on my team I was very confident but in the semis that was the tough one against Anna and Riley yeah wow okay cool so um with your.

Partnership with uh with Matt Wright is that like um is that how does it work is it is it throughout the 2024 all the way and then you’ll see like you got to kind of start figuring out and this is this is just a good question for all Pros right like you got to kind of start figuring out your next move like when or what part of the season like how how.

Does that work right cuz everyone does it differently well I think it’s it kind of depends on where you are in the rankings because I think that the most valued players you know if you’re a top three guy um like let’s say if if Ben wanted to drop Colin right now yeah anybody would play with him and I think to a lesser extent that occurs as you go.

Down so the whole planning of the next year stuff for a lot of players I don’t really know how it works but I would imagine that you know the whole moral argument of of dropping or not dropping because of you know uh holier than thou like ethical decision-making I would imagine that that’s going to be on the decline because as the money goes up the.

Uh the moral goes down moral goes down and that’s just how life works that’s how humans are so and I can’t blame them it’s a job and and you’re everybody’s Playing for Keeps you know that’s the other thing about pickle ball is they talk about like uh being friend friend L with other people off the court and I’m somebody who’s super insulated um I.

Changed my number like uh like a month couple months ago cuz of some crazy stuff and now there’s only like probably 15 Pros who I can even communicate with like nobody even has my number I don’t run really yeah yeah and it’s like I don’t run my own um Instagram really or or Facebook or Twitter I don’t have any of that I’m super insulated I just kind.

Of talk to my close family and friends and um at the tournaments like I’m kind of known for this like I’ll just kind of like hide in the corner like I don’t really go in the Players Lounge who’s your who’s your closest friends on tour outside outside Anna outside Anna yeah definitely outside in no I mean I guess you know I’ve got people that I’m.

Cordial with like or maybe like a like a Greg da maybe okay we don’t hang out like he lives in South Carolina but you said you said so you live in Florida but you said you you frequently or maybe I mean not super frequently but you live around jdub Yeah Anna Le yeah and you said oh Andre is out there and tardio so you get some practice games with them.

Totally how how often does that happen uh pretty often probably twice a week okay so you see those guys a lot yeah you guys you guys never go out are you guys no really um I think they might go out with each other maybe jdub and Dylan will go to the library or whatever those nerds do I don’t know I don’t know what JB and Dylan do in their free time uh no.

I don’t really I think I think that that’s something I’ve been super cognizant of because in tennis I was too buddy budddy with my my opponent sometimes and it I think it held me back to a certain extent so in pickle ball like at these tournaments other Pro and I don’t do it because I don’t like the other Pros like it’s there’s no.

Animosity I’m I’m nice when you see me I’m nice yeah but at the tournaments I’m known to just kind of like hide in the corner or like hide like at this last one there was the Players Lounge then there was like this upstairs area I’m just like hiding up there CU I’m super like I’m really like introverted when I compete I just keep everything or just.

Maybe just trying to stay focused that kind of thing yeah yeah and other people focus different ways like Anna likes to talk to people a lot of people like to talk to people Jesse Irving was talking all tournament to anyone she see she won’t but but me I’m the exact opposite I’m not talking to anybody until it’s over yeah wow okay um all right so.

Tennis to pickle ball obviously you’re one of the converts your story is actually really interesting because of the whole um not volley uh to to top five volleys um but um what what makes it um I just had uh Andre and actually Tardy on the on the podcast nice earlier but um but um what makes it why isn’t it.

So easy why why is pickle ball not that easy to a certain extent obviously for tennis players it’s easy to pick up but uh when we talk about the pro level like what makes it uh what makes it harder than people think yeah I think that it’s not so what people don’t understand about pickle ball is it’s not as much of a direct correlation.

With how good you were at tennis to how good you’ll become at pickle ball um Sam query’s a great guy and look he’s a great guy I got we had like a little funny fake beef the guy is impossible to hate and if I ever had like a beef with him I would lose because he’s more likable than me so I can’t have a beef because everybody’s like oh we love Sam.

Query James ah James is all right so I’m not trying to take shots at Sam query but the guy in tennis would have destroyed me of course he would have destroyed me he was an unbelievable tennis player but I think that in terms of pickle ball talent I think I’m just better suited for pickle ball than he is and that’s just I think my opinion and.

It’s just different they’re just different sports so if you take the the number 10 tennis player in the world you can be sure that they’ll be a high high 5 at the very least yes like you can be sure that if you take a top 10 tennis player and make him train for pickle ball for a year and a half they’re going to be at least top 40 I think I think.

Top 40 they can they’ll you can bet on that if they work hard but well that’s right I mean you I guess you could kind of say it would be a good one right like all hypothetical right the three goats right we got obviously jokovic feder Nadal like we would all take a poll who would be who would be the best pickleball player of all and it would be.

Tough right I mean a lot of people would say feder because of touch but like maybe maybe not maybe maybe maybe even Nal but surprise people yeah you know yeah you don’t know it’s impossible to know so I think at a certain point there is a differentiator between tennis talent and pickle ball talent because they are different sports so you just.

Can’t take a top 10 guy and assume that they’re going to be that great you you’ll assume they’ll be good yeah but to be top 10 is different like a guy like JW or Riley or Tyson they weren’t good at tennis and they’re rela relatively speaking right well yeah I mean they yeah they just they weren’t great tennis players but then they’re.

You can clearly see they’re talented pickleball players like a guy like JW you know you take a guy like Noah Rubin Noah Rubin if he played JW in tennis would have beat JW 606 would have made JW look silly but even if Noah Ruben trained for pickle ball as much as JW I think JW is just more talented for pickle ball because pickle ball requires.

A different skill set hand speed forearm strength right like how important is your reaction time in tennis you don’t need it it’s a big deal yeah so what what are the top three you would say um we’re talking about again high level or other sports but what are the top three skills then do you think is needed at the pro level top three skills at the.

Pro level yeah I think they’re different in men’s and women’s I think in men’s uh just just the soft stuff having that locked down so okay just having you know being able to make 50 dinks in a row if you need to that and then hand speed and countering power okay I’ve got to think those are the those are the three I could be missing one I actually.

Haven’t been asked that before all right so you said women’s is different so what what would women’s be so what you said men’s to go over he said um dink so just solid dinks countering and hand speed so what what is it for women’s then well I think in order of importance I think that it’s a little bit reversed in women’s because in women’s power and.

Hand speed is more important touch isn’t as important in women’s because the margins are bigger because people are re leaning in less because they’re smaller people so in men’s you’ve got a guy that’s 63 leaning into the kitchen you have to hit a really good drop and a really good Dink and in men’s out of the air attacks are way more potent so you.

Have to be precise and I would know I I popped up a bunch of dinks yesterday and I’m sorry to Matt for it but in women’s you know you can hit some more deep dinks you can be creative and you can make a dink bounce a couple inches past the kitchen line and you’re okay well part of it again um I know we both coach quite amount uh quite a bit but part of.

It the women stay stay back off the line more why why do you think that is because this is a question that I get asked a lot between men’s and women’s and then obviously when I’m teaching there’s a whole bunch to talk about strategy wise but why do you think the uh the women tend to I’ll call it not drift off the line but tend to play off.

The line a little bit Yeah I think that if you’re off the line you have more time to attack off the bounce and in women’s attacks off the bounce are probably more potent and more used than attacks out of the air you know there’s not a lot of women that are super comfortable with a backhand flick you know I mean I was just watching Georgia.

Johnson and Mary humberg play and they they have it but it’s not but it’s because a lot of them aren’t aren’t doing one handers too right that’s yeah well it’s a mix it’s it’s two things they might not have the wrist strength that men do naturally I’m sure they don’t and they also don’t have the reach if you’re five5 if you’re smaller it’s.

Just tougher so they say okay I’ll cut my losses I’ll hang a couple feet back and then if I get a good look off the bounce I’ll pull it yeah so I think yeah mean you look at Anna Lee Anna Lee’s not attacking out of the air she well that’s something she’s adding in our game now but it’s not her yeah of course yeah of course interesting okay um let’s see.

This so Jimmy Papa Jim what have you uh personally worked on so let’s say because you know I’m always improving my game and also trying to improve my coaching all the time I I study film a lot actually I study you guys I study the pros um what what in your game in the past six months have you been working on.

Uh in your in your own personal game like give me give me three items or three different categories yeah so the first thing is the transition zone and that is super important especially in men’s because you’ve got to play soft you know and mixed you can get through the first couple rounds without hitting a drop you can just drive at least for.

Me that’s that’s how I felt but in men’s you’ve got to have the soft stuff so I’ve been working a ton on it I’ve been and it’s gotten better it used to be really bad now like resetting and just just digging out defense yes there’s two different drills that I do um drill number one is just I’ll have a guy hit fourths and I just hit resets maybe.

Three feet inside the Baseline and I’ll move around like I’ll go you know foot inside and then I’ll just kind of work my way around and just reset it in pretty simple and then the other one is a little more of an intense version of that which is they start with an overhead and I have to work my way in so those two things are kind of intertwined.

They’re both like transition it’s defense and I’m doing that for like just you know 30 minutes a day um I don’t want to do it too much I feel like if you do one drink more than 30 minutes a day maybe you build some bad habits you get a little lazy so uh that’s that’s what I do for transition all right so transition uh what are what are two.

Other things that you’re either whether it’s a yeah a drill like that or actual shot that you’re working on yeah so the other one is my return um I never really put a lot of emphasis in my return and I think that if you have the ability to keep your opponent back at a high level which is one of the better parts of my game I’m a big guy and I’ve got a live.

Arm I can keep people back well yeah um and you know you want to hit good returns cuz if I hit a really hard deep return and then I Sprint right up there and I’m ready to flick the fourth it’s a huge Advantage so I you know you’re not using your height or your power well if you’re just pushing your return in and just inviting people to come in and and.

Obviously that’s very general right we all know even lower levels oh deep return but what is what is uh some nuances on that like on the return cuz everyone knows that right so but why don’t you give a little insight there on how a pro why a pro is actually practicing say deeper returns all Pros return deep right so yeah and even even.

Putting some well how I practice it is um there’s a couple different things so if I’m practicing with a guy who doesn’t really have the ability to put a ton of power on his serve I’ll have him stand three feet inside the Baseline and then rip the serve at me and if I can handle a guy who’s standing close and ripping the serve at me and then return it makes.

It way easier for me and I’ve got to be mindful of if the serve is coming harder at me my legs my base needs to be wider because a serve is coming from Baseline to Baseline it’s the farthest distance that a ball can be traveling on the court so you can be sure that that bounce is going to be low because it’s a very linear I mean Tyson puts some.

Height on his serf some people put height most people if they do hit it hard they really don’t put a lot of height mes very linear deal is very linear that lends itself to very low bounces so I made a make a wide base so I’m very balanced and it’s important because when you hit returns you run through them it’s the only shot and.

Pickle ball that you run through yeah so balance becomes essentially important so a wide base is very necessary yeah and I do that I’m mindful of a wide base and I’m mindful of a short swing so I’m getting my power from my body weight moving forward I’m not taking any big swings I’m just pushing everything forward and I’m also I’m not slicing my.

Returns that’s the last thing um I think that if you’re playing somebody with a good drive a good top Drive dangerous when yeah when you first started when did you switch the two hands in pick ball were you ever right away and was that because of Riley or someone you saw or or was this not natural just one because obviously as a coach I I teach.

Both right I teach slice one hand I teach Top Spin two hands I teach everything but why did you go directly to two hands on dinks and everything well I actually have an extensive pingpong background I used to play uh pingpong like every day at my house my dad my dad was really serious into ping pong and I played a ton of ping pong.

That actually might be a little bit of a reason why I’m good at pickle um but I always used a two-handed backhand in ping pong so then really yeah and I just would put a two-handed backhand on my pickle ball paddle right away and I it just felt way more comfortable I didn’t feel comfortable with one hand at all and I never sliced in tennis I had no.

Slice in tennis oh okay or backhand volley with one I would even sometimes say like a two-handed swing volley in tennis okay so that’s that’s where that comes from okay yeah but that’s that’s something okay let’s let’s get to last so transition you said um returns and what would the third be surfs just banging the surf um it can always get.

Better I think it’s this past tournament is the best I’ve ever served I didn’t miss a lot I got to go I got to go watch the matches I go back okay yeah just ripping the serve every time CU it takes uh you know it takes a lot of reps because it takes some coones to rip the serve because you only get one yeah and I would know I used to push him in and.

Uh I I rip every single serve now and I think that takes practice I go out there and I mean not nothing crazy maybe three times a week I’ll serve for 30 minutes and I’ll hit every serve almost as hard as I can really really yeah I mean I’m hitting the serve almost as hard as I can wow okay okay interesting all right um let’s see here Drilling and training.

What what is your what is your um normal like how many like what are your training sessions like and how often well it it depends on where I am if I’m at home then I’ll usually drill uh it’s hard to really put it in a in terms of daily but I would say weekly I’ll drill maybe four times a week and I’ll play play men’s games like four.

Times a week three times a week so it’s almost 50/50 maybe maybe a little more drilling um so then that means you know if that’s eight on a s-day week that means one day I’m playing twice but really I’m not playing more than two hours a day I think anything more than that is a recipe for bad habits for me at this stage like a year and a half ago.

When I was just trying to get the feel for the ball I was playing eight hours a day every day right now I’ve hit a lot of balls it’s just good habits dial everything in yeah that’s what that’s what does when when I had him on the podcast as he said he does usually go over two hours um your normal drilling partner is it is it Anna or is it.

Someone else or who do you drill with me and Anna don’t practice together um we do uh and it’s funny I actually usually only just practice mens I don’t really practice mixed it’s uh we try to have some sort of Separation with the pickle ball because we’re always with each other at the pickle ball tournaments we want to try to have some sort of some.

Degree of separation in that sense so she practices with she hits and plays with ladies or someone else and then you you play with the guys yeah and that’s that’s the best part of being where we live there’s so many so many great players that we have that opportunity so my regular drilling partners are Ryan Fu and Max Freeman and Ryan fu is um you.

Guys are going to hear about him because he is just an absolute Beast he’s only been playing for five months and he was way better than me at tennis and he played at Michigan Michigan was a top five tennis team and he’s been a friend of mine since I was like 12 years old and how older or same age same age we’ve been yeah we’ve been super close for.

Such a long time I up Ander then yeah he’s got insane hands he’s got you know I don’t want to say he has faster hands than me but he might and he’s just uh he’s only playing for five months and he’s already made it through two pro qualifying draws at PPA and I think he had match points in his last first round at the PPA in men’s doubles already and.

He’s better at mixed so if he’s not top 20 at the end of the year I would be I think I’m gonna just wow send back home uh note that wait what is his name again Ryan fu Ryan fu is he what is it Asian yeah he’s half asian what is he uh Chinese okay yeah he’s just like Anna okay and his mom won the NCAA individual title in tennis his.

Mom was like an amazing tennis player wow awesome okay well we’ll have to see that um let’s see here how much uh you said you watch a lot of pickle ball is that to is that to mainly study the game what do you do you watch it for fun it’s a mix of both I I think or strategy there’s certain people that I like to.

Watch for fun so who so who name name to yeah I can name a bunch I mean so like a guy like Jack is very fun to watch I like to watch Colin John’s just because he is so different from me in every way and he makes me laugh when he gets mad at the net cords and he’s just such a character man I I love Colin John’s um I like to watch uh JW I like to watch.

Riley um who else is fun Katherine uh yeah it’s so funny cuz I think most Pros that I’ve asked and talk to they don’t watch a ton and pick offall for fun is that is that is that true I’m still new though I might get tired of it okay still new enough to where it’s like kind of fun like in a year I might be back here and just being like now I’m done.

Yeah yeah okay so yeah um I like to watch feder Rico play singles and I like to watch J Mart it’s funny I don’t even play Sing J dude yeah I don’t play singles and I’m not learning anything from it but I’ve been watching a lot of singles lately like I watched Jack and Tyson play and that was awesome I watched every time feder Rico and J play.

Singles men’s singles has come so far and it is it went from when I came in kind of fun to watch now it’s legit it’s it’s fun to watch yeah it’s like the opposite of um of men’s doubles men’s doubles can get pretty boring yeah yeah what’s uh what’s one shot uh in particular that you’re working on today cuz yeah cuz you’ve you’ve I.

Remember you used to go everything too and you’ve developed the one-handed punch and actually roll volleys too but is is there anything besides that that you’re working on like today yeah so two things I’m working on um the full bag backhand speed up off the bounce so what do you mean full bag trying to hit the person as hard as I can oh we’re going.

Going full bag yeah okay yeah no I think it’s I think it’s a totally fair play and wow I haven’t heard that one man yeah so actually you can go check in the semi-finals me and match has played against Dylan and JW and I hit Dylan as hard as I could and it was like right in the chest did he what he wasn’t ready here what did he do I mean it’s tough to.

Get out of the way of I just hit it as hard as I possibly could oh my God and I think that that’s like a it’s a privilege afforded to me and like maybe maybe 10 other guys who can really hit the ball really really hard and I do have a lot of natural power and I think I’m going to use it and um it’s a it’s a fair play and it’s it’s fun okay so.

You’re okay that’s actual shot you’re actually working on yeah yeah I’ll just bring my bring my friend out there and just hit him a bunch of times oh my gosh okay what’s another one I’m actually joking about that I mean he’ll still have like a cup on in Shades and he you know he he likes it he’s got some issues okay but um another shot that I’m.

Working on is the backhand out of the air attack from the kitchen so like the backhand flick one hand yeah I have the ability to flick pretty well but I’m not that good at picking spots I can hit it hard but I can’t like JW is unbelievable at picking spots he’s got it on a on a string and I don’t have that I don’t have that at all wow that’s cool man.

That’s good um all right let’s talk a little bit about um I don’t know maybe this is this is interesting obviously Anna and um Ben Johns have been at the top for a long time um you’ve played against them both lots of times now uh what do you think uh we’ll start with Ben what do you think kind of what’s special about him what separates him and.

How you know let’s let’s just start there yeah so Ben is I think what separates him and people that it’s um well there’s a ton of things the guy’s unbelievable yeah uh I think that you know they they say that the John’s Brothers the their biggest strength is they’re so disciplined and they’re never going to make a mistake and I think that.

That’s actually right I think it’s I thought it was something deeper than that and of course they’re talented like it’s not like Ben and Colin are just you know not talented and anybody can just do it like no you watch especially and they both are they are truly talented players like people think Colin’s not talented I watch call and hit resets and.

I’m blown away especially for a guy like me I don’t have the talent for the resets um it just I’ve had to hit a ton of resets and I’m still not that great at it uh it’s just not natural for me and I watch a guy like Colin do it and it’s just that’s talent you can’t teach that I’m telling you I mean I hope I can get there with enough reps if I’m.

Resetting like Colin John’s in two years I’ll be the happiest man ever so so maybe but I I don’t know Ben we don’t even need to talk about how talented that guy is um so there if you were to pick like one thing about Ben attribute of a again not not a shot I don’t even to pick one thing I mean I would almost just say he’s just.

That talented like like it’s his like even if Ben was mentally not that strong I think he would still be the best I mean the guy’s just that good yeah so it’s hard like to to pick one thing it’s it’s impossible I think there’s five different things that he’s the best at but the truth is he’s just the best at the game like it’s not some mental.

Genius stuff I mean you play against them you’re like wow the guy’s feel is out of this world yeah yeah okay we might have to cut this out I’m being a little too nice to Ben yeah you don’t have to man you what okay what what about Al so talk about a talent I mean that’s even more uh I mean she’s just she’s.

Insane um analie is actually one thing about her that’s that separates her is like Ben she’s also a really good competitor and she fights hard and she brings a lot of energy and she didn’t play competitive tennis really yeah I know that’s crazy and she’s just a she’s she she fights very hard she’s mentally very solid she’s got a ton of power and.

She’s she just does everything well and her defense is underrated and she’s a great mover um yeah I mean you can’t really think I don’t think she there’s any weakness in her game yeah yeah she her and Ben are a tough team to play I’ll tell you that much it’s you mix them that’s when it gets really tough yeah all right so uh analyzing.

Your game uh Jimmy what what uh so what are the weaknesses in your game right now that that you’re that you’re working on strengthening one of them I guess would be resets yeah so what else or what’s another one well I think that a big part of why Ben’s and Analise feel is so good is they’ve been they’ve been playing for eight years or more right so.

That’s a long time and that’s a lot longer than two so I think that what really changes year by year by year is not only like the competitive stuff and the strategical stuff but the feel for the ball if you look at the Legacy players the guys that have been playing for like six seven years they’re all good in transition.

They all have really soft hands and I don’t think that’s a coincidence I think it’s just repetition you get better at something with repetition and there is no shot like a reset in tennis it’s a shot that you have to learn on your own there’s no there’s no equivalent to a reset yeah tennis so for me it’s the soft stuff in just in just.

Continuing to play and just I think what my game might look like in two years I mean two years ago I was a 4 five so two years from now I think my I’d like to think that my defense and my resets and my dinking will be very very dialed in yeah so that’s my goal I would say it’s pretty dialed in now bro so it’s all right it can get there I think and I.

Think maybe you know my hands will can get even a little better but that’s what’s gotten me this far I think what what needs to get better is the soft stuff with the dinking I mean my backing crosscore dink is good yeah but the transition needs to get better yeah so you pretty much you pretty much roll every ball on your back hand right now.

MH even even off the uh the back foot like what do you do you never just lift or is it is it you know what I mean or do you ever not come up on the ball sometimes I’ll lift it with two if I’m kind of caught in an awkward position and just just like that yeah like uh Riley or Connor Garnett does that sometimes and you never go one hand if.

It’s out stretch you’re never out I do that sometimes sometimes but rarely because I’m always moving my feet so much that I’m almost never stretched I’m just going to get there with my feet yeah uh which I think is an advantage it takes a lot of effort but yeah dude I was going to say your style of dinking it takes a lot of effort man you uh you.

You definitely probably cover the cord and move your feet I would actually I would have to watch more but I would say you actually may move more than Riley even a little bit because uh because of your and by the way when we talk about technique cuz you know I’m big on technique but your your backhand Dink and when I compare it to like someone.

Like Riley’s which is both two hands and Connor’s a little bit different a little bit different style when it comes to the way you contact it and the way you brush up on the ball so I just I find that really interesting yeah yeah I mean well Riley’s just fundamentally different because his grip is wrong I mean it’s just the guy confused I I tried that.

Grip it’s wrong just kidding clearly he’s made it work he’s an unbelievable player uh but know that grip is it’s just a different type of backhand dick it’s hard to explain um it’s more of like a shovel but Conor’s so for him it’s I would imagine since I’ve actually experimented with it it’s easier to speed up down the line because his left.

His left hand is in that directly straight on manner so you see he does have a really good backhand down the line speed up and he can put it either way yeah but it’s different because it’s he’s not able to really get outside of the ball on a backhand in like if for me I mean you you come up on the like really extreme on the side of the ball.

Almost every time yeah yeah and I I think it’s an advantage I mean I’m not going to say my backhand dink is better than than Riley’s or Connor’s I just think that they’re different and mine has a s spin so that as long as I don’t ATP or give up an ATP I’ll be good because when it bounces it runs away from you because it’s going that way.

Which I think has messed with some people I think it’s it’s just unique so there’s always an advantage in that yeah I know it’s really good um all right so last thing here uh Jimmy Let’s uh all right let’s let’s build a perfect pickleball player here okay okay good question I like that all right let’s build it up and uh you can you could.

Include yourself but it would be but or or you could not all right men’s and women’s you can think of different attributes but uh we’re building the perfect pickleball player here uh perfect as in you know you know kind of like those video games like like building some so uh forhand Drive who would you pick Jack sock yeah okay uh.

Backhand Drive which would probably be two hands Conor Garnett Conor dude I I played with him last week yeah it’s pretty nasty he’s he’s it’s pretty nasty dude it’s crazy because there’s not a lot of guys that are newer than me and Connor is newer than me is he yeah he is no oh I didn’t know that he’s under under you like under two years then well.

Yeah I I think he’s he’s newer than me yeah I don’t know if he’s under two years exactly I know that his his Ascent in the Pro game has been after mine and just watching him turn into such a complete player has been super cool because he is good at all three events and he has been very impressive to me um I’m a big Conor Garnett fan okay um all.

Right and uh let’s go with um let’s just go with drops in general Ben Johns Ben Johns yeah just SOL unbelievable yeah okay uh resets Colin Johns atps um which side forand ATP sure we’ll get really specifically well if we go forand.

ATP it’s probably federo sta he hit a good one he hit a good one in singles that I just watched quick segue people don’t realize so fed only plays the left now so nobody sees his back in ATP but the last time he played the right was with me CU me and feder Rico played five tournaments together like a year and a half ago and the guy’s.

Forand ATP was money in the bank so I think it’s cuz he kind of comes around actually no you know who’s got the best 4 ATP is Johnny Goldberg have you seen Johnny Goldberg hit a 4 I haven’t he he curves It Around the Net because he’s so he’s doing one of these yeah yeah cuz he’s got a he’s just a weird player in general yeah and that’s his it kind of I.

Don’t know but it’s unbelievable all right uh backand ATP oh I know how I’ll give it to Conor Garnett yeah yeah yeah it’s got to be Conor G dude I literally played a couple games with him and he literally like hit like probably like nine in like two games yeah he atpd my backand like four times at Nationals yeah that’s crazy okay um overheads.

Thomas Wilson really yeah yeah yeah Thomas whist there’s a bunch of guys that just end it right away like I mean you know but I think Thomas is the coolest looking one like it just looks like it’s just such a you know smooth motion yeah yeah um counters you know I think I’m in that.

Conversation but uh okay I like that I think um I would say there’s a couple guys it’s tough because players counter certain players better than others like I might have a better read on one guy’s attacks um for example I think my two-handed wide backand counter is the best and that’s not a radical statement I think that’s consensus so so why As in.

Out like anything anything out here okay so if somebody’s favorite back favorite speed up is a forehand line speed up then I counter them better okay so we’ll start we’ll start right here and then what about counter what about counter here I got I got you so I would say wide backand is me okay I think at the chest I might be in that conversation too but.

I’d probably give it to either JW or what about what about Frasier Frasier’s in that conversation too yeah there’s a bunch of guys JW Frasier um I mean you can’t leave Ben out of that conversation I think his might not come off as hot as JW’s frasers or M what about what about your partner hold on he’s next you got let I was G say.

Okay let me finish okay all right he’s already on Seventh on the list here we’ve already no I mean it’s just a conversation Matt is definitely on the list I mean Matt it’s it’s it’s tough I think Matt’s in that conversation too even Eric Lang his backhand punches is tough and um okay all right Greg da okay what about uh so so we talked about here.

Uh left counter yep left wing oh wait no backand we talked about that yeah talked about um body what about forehand forehand is uh I think the top three in no particular order are Riley JW and Ben Riley JW and Ben and Dylan’s really good there too and I I’m I’m getting better there but I I’m I have some room to improve there yeah yeah yeah it’s.

Tough man just strategically a really quick tip how do you how do you cover all three spots like have you changed your paddle position over time cuz obviously you know tennis we’re taught like that obviously there’s like a a 10:00 position here you’re you’re you’re two-handed backhand right so you use a lot of um where where’s your paddle.

Position at generally like first of all how high and then um is it angled off uh and or or it might change it might change in different positions this is a really good question so this is it depends on which side you’re on so if you’re on the right if I’m on the right I will be a little bit more angled towards a backhand because all the.

Action is going to the left side of me and the chances I hit a forehand if the ball’s in the middle are pretty low cuz you’re well you’re saying you could slide or do something like that yeah yeah so I’m I’m always looking to hit backhands when I’m on the right and the best right side players are always looking to hit backhands Colin Dylan.

Matt when I’m on the left I’m pretty much even and I’m right here at my chest and I’ve had people ask me the question of well James you love your two backhand counter why don’t you start with two hands here and then maybe if it’s at your chest switch to one that’s not the right way to do it you start with one at the chest and then if it goes to your.

Left down the line you have time to put two on it and the reason that you have time to switch to two is because a speed up from your outside foot to my outside foot yeah forehand down the line speed up can’t be hit that hard the net 36 in on the side 34 in the middle highest part of the net and it’s the smallest amount of cord you’re going down the.

Line so you can’t burn me there with a ton of speed so I can sit at my body because that’s the one you can let you can hit hard I like that or or or on your forehand a wing you can hit hard obviously I’m more real estate there yeah yeah so because that can you can go across my body there’s more Court lower net so I sit body always and then I’m.

Ready to switch to two interesting so that’s why do you think it’s faster do you think it’s faster or slower in that same situation so I’m on the left let’s say okay I’m on the left you’re in front of me you’re speeding up down the line do you think it’s actually um fast F or the same for me to just counter with one or or go to cuz you sit here well the.

Difference in speed of countering with one versus countering with two maybe it does take you one extra tenth of a second to put that left hand on if that’s what you’re asking it could take a little more time to put two hands on it but it’s worth it because if you go all the way out here with one you’re not going to hit a hard counter it’s almost.

Impossible this this is easy this is me and then this is good luck have to like do experiment but um even you’ve we’ve seen seen Ben John’s like start to work on that but it might be faster and maybe you could help me think through this through but going like this because of the drag or just going here and just actually having your left hand kind of.

Catch it and accelerate it might be faster I don’t know what’s your thoughts that’s a good point I didn’t even think of that like that could be the case cuz I was wondering why my two-and backend counter was so fast okay okay no I think that actually could be the case cuz cuz you meet it here so there’s not all that back motion there’s.

Not there’s no there’s less you can accelerate through quicker I think and there’s less back swing well it turns into more of a lefty forehand counter yeah in its nature it’s actually more of a lefty forehand counter which could be quicker yeah so yeah I mean I think there’s there’s definitely an argument for that it’s a good point okay all.

Right um thanks thanks Jimmy thanks for teaching me about yourself man thank you for having me on I feel like I rambled lot but uh I’m coming off a tournament I had a lot to say and um that’s it we don’t have any more to talk about uh we do I think we’re going to do a separate uh maybe we do a bonus strategy one okay yeah just a short one cuz I got so much.

Energy let’s just go yeah yeah but um really quick do you want to mention uh anything about uh just anything else before we before we sign off and Clos this pod I don’t know to your fans to your sponsors or to your uh you know to the to the to the haters out there maybe the Papa Jimmy haters I don’t even know man I only got like 15 people that have.

My phone I don’t have I don’t know my haters oh man no I don’t even maybe maybe thank Anna for the support that that that might be nice okay yeah should I do that are we still recording yeah what do you mean this is on dude I’m I’m asking you no we’re we’re closing the Pod right now oh yeah yeah um thanks to I mean well of course I got to you know.

What I’m actually I got a call from my mom uh like a week ago she’s like James you never shout me out in your interviews and I paid for your first like paddle your first this and that dang yeah yeah all right what’s what what’s your mom’s name Marissa and Marissa yeah thank you Marissa she paid for my first Tournament.

Entry she paid for my first paddle like I I I wasn’t you know uh she she helped me out and she didn’t think I was going to be good either she was like ah just whatever to get James out of trouble let’s do this stupid pickle ball thing she was willing to pay for it and was always you know I mean I have the best parents ever like so um and it’s funny.

Cuz you hear about a lot of people that are like that had parents that you know didn’t help him out a lot yeah I couldn’t have had better parents like just across the board like the most supportive because in tennis you have parents sometimes um that are like overbearing that are that are so focused on their own agenda and this and that my.

Parents were always especially my dad my dad was um probably the best sports parent you could have possibly had he was just after every tournament we played or I played it was just um you know you could lose or win and he would act the exact same way that’s awesome and uh that just always gave me like such a feeling of um of like comfort and.

Just just knowing that no matter what the result was everything was fine it was just a game and I think at the end of the day your motivation has to come from within it can’t come from outside sources your parents and this and that cuz it’s going to crash and burn at the end so you know that’s that’s actually yeah I’m glad that I remembered to do.

That cuz I never shouted them out and I do have the best experience you you mention it you didn’t really shout out out why don’t you you want to shout it out what do I say shout out to my mom dad shout out to my mom shout out to my dad and shout out to Jordan for for helping me remember there you go um yeah that’s it dude thank you for.

Having me on thank you uh if you enjoyed this conversation go give a go give Jimmy a little follow wait you don’t even have Instagram and stuff right you know what I have instag can they do for you what can they do website what do you got yeah so I am doing uh I’m I’m doing a newsletter and I’m giving out a bunch of free coaching tips I’m kind of.

Falling in love with coaching and just kind of helping people out I’m not selling anybody anything and it’s in my Instagram bio or it’s at James dwit docomo unsubscribe we’re not going I’ve had a bunch of annoying subscriptions where it’s like I can’t unsubscribe I’m getting an email every week we’re not we’re going to you you know free coing.

Free fre videos and some inside stuff and um we’re going to make it good CU I do I do really love coaching and like just talking about it and um making people better because I think it’s you know this is such an awesome Sport and it’s done so much for me awesome what’s your handle what is it James ignt James ignt uh Thanks James Jimmy thank you.

Thank you uh and uh everyone we’ll see you in the next one all right bro
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Chapters:
00:00:00 – Introducing James (Jimmy) Ignatowich
00:03:34 – The Rise and Fall of My Tennis Career
00:07:16 – The Start of My Pickleball Journey
00:10:46 – First Win in Pickleball?
00:14:16 – Pickleball Singles started it all…
00:17:37 – Developing Essential Pickleball Skills
00:21:16 – Wrist and forearm strength (big secret)
00:24:53 – Jack Sock and His Pickleball Skills
00:31:50 – Working on Your Serve Power
00:35:19 – Big Differences in Mixed Doubles vs Men’s Doubles
00:42:20 – The Amazing Pickleball Community
00:49:18 – Importance of Attacking off of the Bounce
00:52:31 – Improving Returns and Serves in Pickleball
00:55:50 – Drilling and Practice Partners
01:02:45 – Ben’s Special Talent
01:17:01 – Shout out to Mom and Dad
01:20:33 – Appreciating this amazing sport

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