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First ‘Pickle ‘n Pucks’ called a ‘smashing success’ in unique pickleball showcase

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Austin Colbert
  

Ben Johns, the top-ranked player on the PPA Tour, plays pickleball during the Carvana PPA Tour's Pickle 'n Pucks experience on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at Aspen Meadows Resort.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

A three-time Stanley Cup champion like Justin Williams knows when he is being toyed with. But he also expected nothing else when stepping on the pickleball court against that sport’s top talent.

“They are being nice to us, but it’s a lot of fun,” he said of playing the pickleball pros. “If you really love pickle and you want to learn about it, who better than the people here?”

He was among the celebrity guests to take part in the inaugural “Pickle ‘n Pucks” pro-am exhibition on Thursday, put on by the Carvana Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour and hosted at Aspen Meadows Resort. The event, which was broadcast by ESPN2 a few hours after it ended, brought together the best pickleball players in the world with stars from hockey and tennis for a celebration on what happened to be National Pickleball Day.

“Getting more celebrities, different athletes involved, it’s just great for the sport,” said Anna Leigh Waters, the teenage phenom from Florida who is the top-ranked woman on the PPA Tour. “Playing in the event was awesome. I felt like everybody was good enough to where we could have some good points. Sometimes with the celebrities, you never know what you are going to get, but I thought they were pretty good.”

Joining Waters as pickleball pros during Thursday’s tournament were Ben Johns and Collin Johns, the brothers who are arguably the sport’s biggest stars. Ben Johns has been the top-ranked man on the PPA Tour in recent years. Also taking part were pro players AJ Koller and Meghan Dizon.


Hockey players included Williams, Denver native Troy Terry, and Detroit Red Wings legend Kris Draper, a four-time Stanley Cup champion.

Anna Leigh Waters, the top-ranked woman on the PPA Tour, plays pickleball during the Carvana PPA Tour’s Pickle ‘n Pucks experience on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at Aspen Meadows Resort.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Pickleball players compete in the Carvana PPA Tour’s Pickle ‘n Pucks experience on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at Aspen Meadows Resort.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Professional player Collin Johns celebrates a win while playing pickleball during the Carvana PPA Tour’s Pickle ‘n Pucks experience on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at Aspen Meadows Resort.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

“I’ve been retired a few years now, so you have to get your competitive juices somewhere,” Williams said of playing pickleball. “This is one of them that I do enjoy. What is similar about hockey and pickleball is it’s really instinctual. In hockey, you are always moving, and in pickleball, after the serve, anything can happen out there, and you have to be ready for anything.”

Not to be left out, tennis stars John Isner and Genie Bouchard also played Thursday in Aspen. Bouchard, a 2014 Wimbledon finalist, has recently made the transition from tennis to playing pickleball professionally on the PPA Tour.

Pickle ‘n Pucks actually got underway Tuesday and Wednesday, where guests had the chance to take lessons from the pickleball pros, for a price. Even part-time Aspen resident and former pro cyclist Lance Armstrong got involved, taking some of the sponsors on a bike ride to the Maroon Bells on Wednesday.

Thursday’s pro-am tournament was more of a fun exhibition in front of a small audience, with no real winners being recognized.

And it’s an event that could become a new summer staple in Aspen, with plans already in the works to bring it back in future years.

“It was really fun to see it come to life. It was a smashing success,” said PPA Tour co-founder and executive Conner Ogden. “No matter your background, pickleball is kind of a melting pot for everybody. We have some hockey players on tour, we have tennis, we have ping pong, so it’s really cool to see all the backgrounds and all the talents come together and play pickleball.”

acolbert@aspentimes.com

Former tennis professional John Isner, who reached the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals, plays pickleball on the Carvana PPA Tour’s Pickle ‘n Pucks experience on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at Aspen Meadows Resort.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Former NHL player Justin Williams, right, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, chats with pro pickleball player Meghan Dizon during the Carvana PPA Tour’s Pickle ‘n Pucks experience on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at Aspen Meadows Resort.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

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