Prior to his freshman year at Palm Desert High School, Daniel Yi made the curious decision to give up playing tennis and instead play football in the fall and run track in the springtime. He had played tennis for eight years, but because of the overlapping seasons he would be unable to play while participating in track.
There was a time when Yi regretted that decision.
That was six years ago, and now Yi is among the top junior pickleball players in the country. He picked up the sport his junior year of high school and over the last two years he’s risen to the No. 4 spot on the Professional Pickleball Association’s junior singles rankings.
“After high school, I just went all-in on it,” Yi said.
It turns out that he just may have the perfect athletic background to thrive in a sport that is the fastest-growing in the country for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Yi has a strong tennis background, but he also believes that his athleticism was aided tremendously because of four years of football and track.
Those sports, he said, helped him with explosive north-south movements on the court, with his footwork and overall fitness level.
Many who play pickleball either have a tennis background or, but in some cases, they are picking up a racket for the first time. Yi had both the tennis and athletic background going for him.
It also helped that Yi got into the sport before some of the recent explosion in popularity and he was able to get good enough by playing regular competitive matches around Los Angeles, which along with parts of Florida are believed to be the hotbeds of the sport.
While friends were heading off to college in 2024, Yi was strategically figuring out how to get his foot in the door on a sport that offered cash prizes in tournaments but didn’t yet have a ton of established stars.
“Summer after high school moved to Newport Beach and got a lot of good games in,” Yi said. “I had about six months before I was going to go to school and decided to give it a try.”
His journey evolved from there.
That first year, the progression was radical. It included playing in local Southern California tournaments and breaking into the pro scene. At first, he didn’t have the experience to hang with the top players but he still played well.
“In the last two years, Daniel’s growth, physically and mentally, has been exponential!” said Brandon Jones, the head pickleball pro at Chaparral County Club in Palm Desert. “He’s bigger. He’s faster. He hits the ball harder, but he’s just mentally stronger and tougher and that goes a much longer way in racket sports — especially pickleball.”
Because Yi graduated from high school just as he was turning 17, for two years he’s been able to play in junior events, which is for players 21-and-under, to build his confidence. He’ll turn 19 this spring.
Yi said that while he enjoys playing casual matches with friends and family members, he tries not to do it too much.
“I think I’ll lose focus if I’m playing casually,” he said, “because I’m not pushing myself as much. You don’t want to take the joy out of the game, but when you have a goal and you’re trying to get better and make a career of this, I want to really push myself.”
Yi has been able to focus on pickleball full-time with help from his parents and from the prize money he wins at tournaments. Small sponsorships have also helped.
His routine includes practicing and training for a few hours every day, playing several competitive matches each week and working with a personal trainer in Calabasas three times a week. With his trainer, he works on strengthening his core and improving his mobility and balance.
“Physically, his raw talent and ability is all there,” Jones said. “The biggest thing that I see with Daniel is going to be his mental capacity to take everything on. But with a good foundation, he will thrive.”
Yi feels fortunate that he picked up pickleball when he did. He believes that he got in slightly ahead of a wave in popularity.
Aside from making a career out of pickleball, Yi said that he’d love to one day represent the U.S. in the Olympics. It’s not yet an Olympic sport, but he’s young enough that it could be while he’s still at the height of his game.
And about that regret that he gave up tennis when he began high school? That’s not something he worries about anymore.
“I’m glad it went the way that it did,” he said. “If that freshman could look ahead, I think he’d be very happy with how it turned out.”
Andrew John is a reporter for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Desert grad is making waves as a pro pickleball player
Reporting by Andrew John, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
