From Mustang Tennis Star to Pickleball Pro
1/9/2023 2:30:00 PM | Women's Tennis
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Former Cal Poly women's tennis star Emily Ackerman may have graduated this past spring, but she isn't done leaving her mark on the court — this time through the fastest-growing sport in the U.S.
Ackerman, a three-time All-Big West first team selection in doubles, recently decided to go all in on becoming a professional pickleball player. The Thousand Oaks, California native earned her first career sponsorship from Volair Pickleball in November and a few weeks later was drafted by the Chicago Slice in Major League Pickleball, an organization that has received investments from a number of celebrities and high-profile athletes, including Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, LeBron James and tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios.
"The ownership backing [the league] is pretty wild," Ackerman said.
Pickleball has been spreading rapidly across the country over the past few years and when Ackerman was a Mustang, the thought of setting down her racket and picking up a paddle never crossed her mind, but she's quickly fallen in love with the sport.
"This was not on my radar at all while I was in college," she said.
Ackerman's interest in the sport began back in 2020 when Cal Poly's season was cut short due to COVID-19. She went home and tried pickleball for the first time with her dad and the two played recreationally here and there.
Then that summer pro pickleball player and Thousand Oaks native Wesley Burrows reached out and asked Ackerman if she would be interested in playing in a pro tournament. Ackerman had known Burrows since she was 10 through tennis, so she figured why not.
It was her first taste of the sport at the pro level and the pair made some noise in mixed doubles at the event, but Ackerman's junior year at Cal Poly was fast approaching.
"I had zero desire to pursue [pickleball] at all at that time," she said. "It was just super fun to be able to pick up a sport I had never really played and be decent at it."
Ackerman only picked up a pickleball paddle when she went home for breaks during the 2020-21 season as she focused all her attention on dominating opponents on the tennis court and staying dedicated in the classroom.
After the season, the multiple-time Big West All-Academic honoree did the same as the summer before, playing in a few pro pickleball tourneys with Burrows. As her passion for the sport continued to grow, Ackerman pondered what she could accomplish in pickleball if she had more time to dedicate to it.
In her final season with the Mustangs in 2021-22 at the No. 1 doubles spot, Ackerman led the team to a second-place finish in the conference regular season standings (their highest since 2011), an appearance in the Big West Tournament championship match for the second straight year and a 17-7 overall record, the program's second most wins in a single season in Division I history and their most since 2003.
After graduating with her bachelor's degree in Kinesiology this past spring, Ackerman accepted a full-time position at the Paso Robles Sports Center coaching tennis and eventually giving pickleball lessons and putting on clinics. She added a couple pro pickleball tournaments to her schedule over the summer and soon realized that if she wanted to pursue a career in the sport, fresh out of college was the best time to do it.
By the time August rolled around, becoming a pro pickleball player started to look like a realistic possibility for Ackerman thanks in large part to the support she received from her parents, Paul and Mai, and the encouragement Burrows gave her to go all in.
"It meant a lot coming from Wes," she said. "It was like alright someone else thinks I can do this and thinks it's worth it."
Ackerman went for it, ratcheting up her training and playing in a handful of high-level pro tournaments to close out 2022 to get the attention of sponsors. She even moved back to Thousand Oaks in November to be closer to fellow pickleball players.
Her commitment and drive paid off and now Ackerman is gearing up for her first Major League Pickleball (MLP) tournament in Mesa, Arizona, on Jan. 26-29.
"I'm super excited about that," she said.
The ownership group for Ackerman's team in the MLP, the Chicago Slice, includes YouTuber David Dobrik and model Heidi Klum.
Currently, Ackerman is working part-time as a tennis and pickleball pro at Westlake Athletic Club — where she played growing up — and spending the rest of her time on the pickleball court.
"My coach from when I was 7 is now my boss, so it's really sweet to be able to move back home and just give back to the kids like my coaches did for me," she said.
In women's singles, Ackerman is the fifth-ranked pickleball player in the West Region and No. 18 in the nation, according to the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR). She is the 49th-ranked player in the U.S. in women's doubles.
Tennis and pickleball have their similarities and differences, but 15 years of knowledge and experience on the tennis court have certainly helped Ackerman in her new pursuit.
Ackerman said the tight-knit community around pickleball drew her in.
"It's such a small sport that you get to know everyone because you see the same people every tournament and it's just a really unique atmosphere that pickleball has," she said.
Ackerman also loves how fun and carefree the sport is. Obviously, Ackerman wants to win every time she steps on the court, but she doesn't feel the pressure to perform like she did in tennis.
"I love competing and I love playing sports, so the fact I get to still do that is super fun to me," she said. "I don't have a desire as of right now to make it my full-time job … but I just love that I get to take all the skills I learned in tennis and now it's helping me in something else."
Ackerman plans on playing in about 15 pro pickleball tournaments this year and her first event in 2023 is the Pro Pickleball Association Hyundai Masters at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage this Thursday through Sunday. She will be playing in singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles alongside Burrows.
Ackerman said she'll wait and see where this year takes her in terms of her pro pickleball career, but she plans on coaching long-term and hopes to increase interest in pickleball locally.
"I tried to get some of my teammates to play with me last summer and I think they enjoyed it so I'm curious if any of them post college will reach out and see what happens," she said.
Players Mentioned
