LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Being a Junior National Champion of Pickleball wasn’t always on Matthew Mullins’ bingo card.
“No I definitely never thought I would get to this point. Honestly, if you asked me when I started playing, I probably would have still told you I was gonna be an NBA or NFL player,” the University of Kentucky freshman said.
Mullins has been playing the sport for more than a decade.
“My parents got me into it,” he said, smiling. “They wanted to do something as a family.”
That was back before the sport got popular.
“It’s amazing to see how much the game has changed throughout the years,” Mullins added.
He became so good on the court that, as a teenager, he got a job as a pickleball pro at Griffin Gate Marriott. Mullins gave lessons, scheduled tournaments, and even established a league.
“I couldn’t do just playing or just doing the round robins and stuff, so I started teaching,” Mullins said.
“Matt can teach a beginning how to be an intermediate, like it’s a regular business day,” said Alex Pennington.
Though Pennington is a friend of Mullins, he has also taken lessons from the champion. He said Mullins knows the sport better than anybody.
Now, sponsored by multiple companies like Adidas, the UK student focuses only on practicing. He has an unorthodox approach compared to other athletes.
“It sounds weird. I’m a higher level and I am still watching videos right. But I definitely go home and watch videos. I think that helps tremendously,” said Mullins.
Though he thought he would be watching a different kind of film at this age, Mullins found a passion he could profit from much earlier in life than he would’ve if he played basketball or football.
