At 18 years old, pickleball professional Alix Truong is already one of the most exciting players on the pickleball circuit. The rising talent is in the midst of the pro scene’s top players and can be found challenging for podium finishes on a consistent basis.
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Truong, who was introduced to pickleball in 2020, already has an impressive pickleball resume to draw upon. She, alongside teammates Regina Goldberg, Wes Burrows and Brendon Long, make up Miami Pickleball Club’s Major League Pickleball Team. She also competes on the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) tours, recently capturing a mixed pro doubles gold medal alongside teammate Andrei Daescu.
A former tennis player, Truong’s introduction to pickleball occurred thanks to the shutdowns caused by the pandemic.
“I live right behind two tennis courts, so when COVID happened the tennis courts were locked by the county,” said Truong. “We had no access, so we went over to a friends house who had pickleball lines on a private tennis court that they had and they introduced us to the sport. “I signed up for my first [pickleball] tournament that summer with my dad, we played in the 4.0 mixed doubles in a local tournament and we ended up winning. January of 2021 was my first pro tournament, I just wanted to test it out see where I stood…that tournament I pretty much decided I wanted to play pro pickleball.”
Since that decision, Truong has doubled down on her commitment to the sport, made evident by her recent shift to homeschooling to allow her to navigate pickleball’s event-heavy schedule. With a burgeoning career ahead of her, completing schooling outside of the traditional standard was a worthwhile sacrifice.
“I’ve lost that high school experience but I really don’t mind that because I think travelling the country and potentially the world for pickleball is an amazing opportunity,” explained Truong. “I think it’s a richer experience than it would to be a high school kid. I’ve made so many new friends and I’ve learned so many life lessons. I like to say I’m more street smart than book smart, so I’ve definitely learned to navigate my way through life in this community.”
Off the court, Truong seems content with her relatively newfound life on the road and the support and advice being provided by her peers in the pickleball community.
“Transitioning from hanging out with kids my age to people who are older and have that life experience, I feel much more relaxed and able to really take in what other people have to tell me for pickleball,” Truong added. “On-court tactics and strategies, but also off the court, how to take care of myself, things like that.”
She offered up some sound advice for aspiring pickleball players who may want to follow in her early-career successes.
“Get as much experience as you can. If you’re someone young who wants to become one of the top pickleball players in the world, I would say you have to get yourself out there, have the experience.
“You’re going to fail a lot at times and I know it sounds a little cheesy but you have to fail to succeed and I’m still in that process myself…”
ABOUT MIAMI PICKLEBALL CLUB
Miami Pickleball Club is a professional sports team that competes in Major League Pickleball. The team made its debut in 2023 and is owned by Naomi Osaka, Patrick Mahomes, Kygo, Nick Kyrgios, Rich Paul, Soichiro Minami and others. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the US, and Miami Pickleball Club represents the city in the highest-tier competitive league in professional pickleball.
For more information on Miami Pickleball Club, visit themiamipc.com and follow Miami Pickleball Club on Instagram and TikTok.
ABOUT HAUS PICKLEBALL
Haus Pickleball is a media brand covering the sport of pickleball by connecting and collaborating with on-court stars, front office leaders, media personalities, and future-shaping brands. For editorial and general inquiries, please send us an email at info@hauspickleball.com.
