SCENES FROM the PPA Proton AUSTRALIA Pickleball Open
By: Frankie Sharpe
ICYMI—Frankie was featured in our newsletter last week, sharing her journey to pickleball and life in Kapalua. Now, she’s back with a special travel feature on her experience at the PPA Proton Australian Cup.
G’day from Down Under!
What an awesome experience to attend the PPA Australia tournament in Melbourne while vacationing with my hubby Wil to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary!
We got to chat with a lot of the US stars, including Gabe Tardio, Tyson McGuffin, CJ Klinger, Quang Duong, Collin Johns, Jay Devilliers, Zane Navratil, Hurricane Tyra Black, Allyce Jones, Jessie Irvine, Vivian Guzman, Lacey Schneeman, and more!
They were all super nice, stoked to be in Australia, and happy to take pictures with us.
The Australian teams were mighty good, but the US PPA players came out on top, winning in all the events. No surprise, but the Aussies might be catching up soon.
My husband and I both play with a Six Zero paddle, which is an Australian brand, so we were excited to meet the company founder Dale Young. It was fascinating to hear him talk about the emerging paddle technology, but he swore us to secrecy so I can’t share anything here!
Another highlight — meeting Australia’s top para player Dion Reweti. Too bad we didn’t get to see him play since there was no para division in this tourney. I bet he is fierce on the court.
We got to see two days of the competition then headed off to New Zealand for more adventures. And of course, we managed to play some pickleball ourselves in every city we visited!
How great to see our favorite sport taking off on an international level!
Want to learn more about Frankie’s journey—from her career as a journalist and editor to her pickleball life in Kapalua? Check out her spotlight feature.
