A day in the life of a pickleball pro at Nationals: Christian Alshon

On Thursday, I spent the day with PPA Tour pro Christian Alshon. 

The seventh-ranked player in the world had a full schedule consisting of matches in every discipline – men’s singles, mixed doubles, and men’s doubles. 

Before hitting the court, Alshon began his morning with a hearty breakfast that included eggs benedict. 

He prioritizes taking his time when it comes fueling up early in the day.

“It’s really important that I don’t rush,” said Alshon. “If I’m rushing, it means I’m not prepared.” 

Coming from a successful tennis background, Alshon made the switch to pickleball and hasn’t looked back.

“I play pickleball because I love pickleball. I liked it more than tennis,” he remarked, while going through his pre-match stretching routine alongside fellow pro Pablo Tellez. “The pickleball court is physically smaller than a tennis court. When you’re playing tennis, you’re so far away from your opponent, but in pickleball, you’re 14 feet away from the person you’re playing, so you could reach out and touch them. I think the pickleball court being smaller is a big reason why the community is so tight, because everybody is just physically closer.”

The 23-year-old Boca Raton, FL native’s weapon of choice is the Diadem Edge 18K Carbon Fiber paddle. 

“It’s basically the first paddle I learned to play on,” he explained. “It’s become the one I’m most comfortable with.” 

After about 45 minutes of prep work, Alshon was ready for his first match. 

He found himself down 9-6 to Yates Johnson in the third and final game, and tensions ran high on and off the court as he showed clear signs of frustration. 

It didn’t help that fans were emphatically cheering on Johnson at that point, too.

“I wanted to get so negative at that moment, missing easy shots. I get so angry because I care about every point,” admitted Alshon. “But, I’ve got Leigh Waters as my coach and she said, ‘You’re only going to win this match if you stay positive.’ She’s like my Jiminy Cricket, so I listened to her advice, remained positive, and I made a comeback.”

Thanks to some encouragement and strategic advice from Waters, Alshon rallied to earn an 11-9 triumph in the decisive game to advance to the quarterfinals. 

Shortly after that, he jumped into a cool-down consisting of a light jog for about five minutes and some dynamic stretching, before throwing a few Nuun electrolyte tablets into his water bottle to rehydrate.

He also ate Uncrustables and ToastChee Sandwich Crackers to get him through until the next match. 

The self-proclaimed “Tweener King” managed to showcase one of his trademark shots in every one of his matches. 

“I don’t usually hit the tweeners anymore because I can’t afford to make a dumb shot,” said Alshon. 

Soon after, he joined Hurricane Tyra Black for a mixed doubles battle against Jay Devilliers and Allyce Jones. 

While weaving through the crowd, Alshon’s self-proclaimed “biggest fan” Alexander stopped by to snap a photo and share his appreciation for the pickleball star’s YouTube videos.

Most of Alshon’s supporters know him from his YouTube channel, but he hasn’t posted in about a month. 

“I haven’t been posting as much as I’d like to because I’ve been focusing more on my play and getting better on the court,” said Alshon. “But, it’s definitely something I’d eventually like to get back to.”

The University of Chicago grad was confident heading into his match with Black.

“Get ready for the show,” he quipped, providing a glimpse into his showmanship.

Although Alshon and Black didn’t win the first game, they weren’t going to be denied the win.

His final event of the day was men’s doubles alongside Riley Newman. 

“Riley and I get along on and off the court. We’ve got good chemistry and camaraderie,” said Alshon. “That’s so important when it comes to a good team, having someone you gel with.”

“Christian is a beast out there and he’s definitely on the up and up,” praised Waters. “Today, I had big expectations for him and he’s fulfilled all of them.”

Newman and Alshon earned a quick victory over John Cincola and Martin Emmrich.

After his final win of the day, Alshon cooled down while watching the livestream of the match featuring Hayden Patriquin and Callan Dawson to scope out his competition in the quarters.

That evening, he took an ice bath to help his muscles recover in preparation for Friday’s action. 

The beginning of Alshon’s Nationals story is a good one.