Former junior Wimbledon champ leaves tennis for pickleball

FILE PHOTO: Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – May 29, 2018 Noah Rubin of the U.S in action during his first round match against John Isner of the U.S REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Noah Rubin has been unable to hit the heights expected of him since winning junior Wimbledon in 2014 and the American says he has decided to swap his racket for a paddle to explore a career in the fast-growing sport of pickleball.

Rubin, who stands 1.75m tall, said last month that he would take an indefinite break from tennis. He announced his pickleball switch on Monday, poking fun at his height in a video posted on Twitter.

“It had been an uphill battle where the challenges seemed insurmountable,” said Rubin. “Even after it shouted in my face I didn’t get it. But it was the truth and I was finally ready to accept it.

“I’m short – yes it’s hard to say it out loud but it’s the truth – and the tennis court is way too big, there’s way too much ground to cover.”

Rubin said pickleball just clicked with him.

“This is where I belong. This is home now. And in this sport, size doesn’t matter.”

Invented in 1965, pickleball is a fast-paced paddle sport similar to tennis and badminton, though it is played on a smaller court with a net using a perforated plastic ball.

A Sports and Fitness Industry Association report released in February said it was the fastest-growing sport in the country with more than 4.8 million participants in the United States and growth of almost 40% in the last two years.

Four-time NBA champion LeBron James’s LRMR Ventures is headlining a new ownership group buying a team in Major League Pickleball.