Sports Stars of Dallas to Clash on the Pickleball Court at Nationals

The excitement continues to build for the Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships powered by Invited and the PPA Tour and some of the biggest (literally) stars from the Dallas sports scene are joining the fun.

The Deep Eddy Vodka Celebrity Pickleball Showdown will feature these sports celebrities sharing the court with some of the world’s best pickleball players. The event will take place Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, TX and will feature a premium broadcast slot on ESPN.

Here are the athletes who will be trying to earn a 5.0 rating on Tuesday:

(Learn how to find your pickleball rating)

Dirk Nowitzki

If you don’t know Dirk, you don’t know Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki played power forward for the Dallas Mavericks for 21 seasons and is the franchise’s all-time leader in points and rebounds. The 14-time NBA All-Star helped lead the Mavericks to their first NBA championship in 2011, where he was also named Finals MVP. The 7’0’’ German was named League MVP in 2007 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.

Tony Romo

Tony Romo spent his entire 14-year NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys and leads the franchise in career passing yards and passing touchdowns. A four-time Pro Bowl quarterback, Romo is now making plays in the broadcast booth—he serves as the lead color analyst for CBS Sports’ NFL football coverage.

Jason Kidd

Another Dallas Mavericks star, Jason Kidd spent eight of his 19 NBA seasons as a point guard for Dallas. He played alongside Dirk Nowitzki on the 2011 team that earned the franchise’s first NBA championship. He ranks second in NBA history with 12,091 career assists and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018. As head coach of the Mavericks, Kidd still carves up opposing defenses—now by drawing up plays on a clipboard instead of running them on the court.  

Tyler Seguin

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Tyler Seguin joined the Dallas Stars via trade in 2013. The six-time NHL all-star forward has been one of the team’s best offensive weapons in recent memory, leading the squad in total points during the 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2020 campaigns. The 14-year NHL veteran also serves as an alternate captain for the team.

Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler is a six-time champion on the PGA Tour and won the prestigious Masters Tournament in 2022. The world’s No.1 ranked golfer has a special connection to Dallas, having grown up in University Park and attended Highland Park High School. Scheffler met up with top pickleball pro Anna Leigh Waters to share his expertise on golf, and to get some pickleball practice, of course. Read about that here.

John Isner

A staple of American tennis for over a decade, John Isner captured 16 singles and eight doubles titles on the ATP Tour. He finished inside the top 20 in the year-end pro pickleball rankings each year from 2010-2019 and is considered to have one of the best serves in the sport’s history.  Isner reached a career high ranking of No. 8 in the world in 2018 after a semifinal run at Wimbledon and holds the ATP record for aces, having served 14,470 during his 17-year career. He retired at the 2023 US Open. 

Tickets for the Deep Eddy Vodka Celebrity Pickleball Showdown are still available. Click here for more info.