First pro tournament. Very easy first round match coming up 😂 | Week 23

Big news!

This weekend, I’m playing mixed doubles in my first pro tournament in Atlanta. The bracket has been released and my first round opponents are…

(drum roll please)

Jessie Irvine and Kyle Yates. 😳

 

For my non pickleball subscribers, Jessie is ranked top 10 in the world and Kyle Yates is former #1 in the world.

I’m fired up to say the least — to see how I stack up against two of the best in the world.

Now, the odds of us winning may be less than when the US hockey team played the Soviets in the 1980 winter olympics.

But I think we both remember how that turned out!

So I like our chances. 😉

The truth is, I’m excited because it’s a chance to put my skills up against the very best and see where I stand and it’s an opportunity to compete at the highest level there is!

Since the bracket came out, I’ve watched film on both Jessie and Kyle, and truthfully, I can’t spot any weaknesses. It feels like they both do EVERYTHING well! ** laughs**

So my strategy is to show up, be solid, be patient with my shots, be willing to adapt and to compete really hard!

If my partner and I do that — like Kevin Garnett once said — anything is possible.

And I’m calling it right now. This upset we’re about to pull off will be the story of the tournament. 

(We’ll check in to see how this line aged in next week’s edition 😂)

In all honesty, I’m feeling really good about my game, especially after last weekends tournament where I took second at the Celebrity Tanning Classic with my guy Joe Prince.

 

We played solid and had some incredible moments throughout the day.

I plan to carry that momentum into this weekends tournament where I’m playing

• Pro mixed doubles as mentioned (Friday) 

• Mens doubles 5.0 19+ with the guy who originally got me into pickleball, TJ Rosene. (Saturday)

• And then Mixed doubles 5.0 19+ (Sunday) 

Follow my Instagram if you want more live updates of what’s happening at the tournament @thatpickleballguy.

I’m excited to share in a week’s time how it all went!

Talk soon,

Kyle

PS: Shoutout to my guy Byron, who subscribes to this newsletter, and I got a chance to see at last weekends tournament. You’re the man Byron, and I appreciate all the support. Check out this fun video we made together! And in the caption, you’ll learn why my name in the bracket above says, “kashoota koszuta,” instead of “kyle.”