It’s been a busy year for former Coastal Carolina University Division 1 tennis player-turned pickleball professional, Shelby Bates, who has found herself as one of four players on DC Pickleball Team’s roster for 2023.
Bates, 31, recently took the reins at The Country Club at Mirasol in Jupiter, FL as the club’s touring pickleball professional, and was introduced to the sport last year. Since then, she has dedicated herself to improving on a day-to-day basis, resulting in a transition from amateur status to full-time professional.
“We brought in an exhibition of Ben Johns, Andrei Daescu, JW Johnson and Rob Nunnery last year,” said Bates. “Ben Johns actually told me I was trash at pickleball, so literally that lit a fire underneath me and from then on I’ve just played pickleball since last February. Basically, just playing everyday, tournaments, and then in August/September of 2022, I started going pro.”
Bates credits her seemingly overnight success to a daily routine of on-court training and a healthy lifestyle, combined with watching the top professionals in the game for inspiration.
“I have been finding that I’m playing everyday but also that I’m drilling everyday. Drilling things I need to work on, drilling things that other people are mastering and getting better at. Watching the top pros is what made me transition from amateur tournament play to pro play. The big difference was making sure that I’m taking care of my body, doing cryogenics, red-light recovery, but also working out the days I’m not playing tournaments has been a really big key factor to knowing that I can last on the court and last in long matches.”
Having successfully transitioned from the amateur stage, Bates is now ready to take the next step as a professional.
“Short-term and long-term, my goals are to raise my DUPR [Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating] ranking…each match I’m getting closer and closer to winning, but now, the goal is to start winning more and more medals and start getting on the podium every tournament.”
Individual goals aside, Bates is also embracing the team aspect of DC Pickleball Team’s that includes teammates Stefan Auvergne, Sam Querrey and Monica Policelli.
“Honestly, I love it. I love being a part of a team,” added Bates. “You’re not only competing for yourself, but you’re cheering for your teammates and you’re doing it for everybody that’s on your team. There’s a lot pressure, there’s a lot of naysayers, there’s a lot of people cheering and trying to really get in your head when you’re playing out there. It’s a really cool atmosphere, but I think it’s just super fun being on a team, being a part of something from the ground up that is growing and just getting bigger and bigger.”
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ABOUT DC PICKLEBALL TEAM
D.C. Pickleball Team (DCPT) is the newest professional pickleball team to join Major League Pickleball (MLP). DCPT’s ownership group includes Al Tylis, Sam Porter, Eva Longoria, Justin Verlander, Kate Upton, Rip Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Odell Beckham Jr. and Mesut Ozil.
DCPT will play in the Challenger Level in season one and Premier Level in season two. Season one’s roster includes Sam Querrey – 10-time ATP Tour Titleist and ranked 11th in the world in 2018; Stefan Auvergne – an exciting player from France and former competitive tennis player, competitive gamer and race car driver; Shelby Bates – former D1 Tennis Player at Coastal Carolina University; and Amanda Hendry – former D1 Field Hockey Player at University of North Carolina.
For more information about D.C. Pickleball Team visit www.dcpickleballteam.com and follow on social media:
Twitter – @dcpickleball_tm
Instagram – @dcpickleballteam
Facebook – @dcpickleballteam
TikTok – @d.c.pickleballteam
ABOUT HAUS PICKLEBAL
Haus Pickleball covers the rapidly growing sport of pickleball. Through written articles, interviews, podcasts and more, Haus Pickleball aims to support the growth of the sport in North America and beyond. Stay updated and help us #GrowTheGame by following and subscribing to our social channels.
