Joey Wild

Joey Wild picked up a paddle for the first time in 2020 in Austin, Texas, while studying for his master's degree. He had played soccer for more than 20 years and had no racquet-sport background, but when the pandemic shut his season down a friend introduced him to pickleball and he never went back. He spent his early years in the sport playing alongside Jared Paul before returning to Australia in 2023, just as professional pickleball was taking hold there. Six years after that first game, Wild is a professional on the Carvana PPA Tour.