Noah Rubin did not know precisely what he was once going to do following his resolution to take an indefinite spoil from skilled tennis. He simply knew the bodily and psychological pressure had taken its toll and he had to step away.
But it did not take lengthy for him to determine his subsequent bankruptcy.
On Monday, simply weeks after revealing his departure from tennis, the 26-year-old Rubin introduced he was once turning his attractions to pickleball with a video on Instagram during which he poked a laugh at his 5-foot-9 stature.
“The tennis court is just way too big and there’s way too much ground to cover,” Rubin mentioned within the video. “I recently came across the pickleball court, and it clicked, this is where I belong, this is home now. And in this sport, size doesn’t matter.”
It’s an surprising profession shift for the 2014 Wimbledon junior champion and 2015 NCAA singles runner-up — and in all probability nobody is extra shocked than Rubin himself.
“I’m not a tennis traditionalist, but there’s a love for the sport and when you see something like pickleball coming in and so quickly taking over, the knee-jerk reaction is like, ‘Get the f— out of here,'” Rubin instructed ESPN. “No chance is this [sport] going to be anything, no chance is this worth a look. But then I put my ego aside, and I was like, ‘Wow, I get it now. This all makes sense.'”
Rubin, who grew to become professional as a 19-year-old in 2015, discovered fast good fortune in tennis, successful his first Challenger name in November of that 12 months. But he was once ceaselessly sidelined through accidents, and not moderately reached the extent he envisioned for himself on excursion. He reached a career-high score of No. 125 in 2018 and has been candid right through his time on excursion in regards to the demanding situations of being a certified tennis participant.
Unhappy along with his present on-court stage, and with a wrist surgical treatment doubtlessly wanted if he sought after to proceed enjoying, Rubin mentioned he knew he had to take a spoil from tennis. He ultimate performed on the Citi Open in July and misplaced in qualifying.
Initially, Rubin believed he can be focusing basically on his “Behind the Racquet” Instagram account and podcast following his go out from the game. And whilst that is still a big a part of his plan, an opportunity day out at the pickleball courts in August with Ryan Harwood, normal supervisor of Major League Pickleball crew The 5s, helped him find a new athletic dream and trail. Rubin had performed a couple of instances however had by no means in point of fact taken it critically.
“I knew the sport was growing and there was potential there, but I wasn’t really sure about it until we started hitting that day,” Rubin mentioned. “And then [Harwood] was like, ‘You have to be one the first to make it over. There’s a lot of opportunity, there are a lot of eyes on the sport, it will explode in one way, shape or form, and you just have to be a part of it.’
“After that I appeared a bit of deeper — and I do the whole lot at a few billion miles according to hour — so inside 3 days I used to be already in Austin, Texas, and at Dreamlands, which is among the pickleball havens over there, able to head.”
Rubin isn’t entirely sure when he’ll make his competitive debut and admits he still hasn’t figured out many of the specific details about his pickleball career, but he’s excited to be a part of the growing sport early. There are currently three professional leagues — Major League Pickleball (MLP), the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) and the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) — and, since the organizations are all so new, players aren’t necessarily beholden to one and many participate in various events across leagues. The sport’s popularity has never been higher — both at the professional and recreational level — and last month LeBron James was announced as an owner of an MLP expansion team, alongside Maverick Carter, Draymond Green and Kevin Love. Drew Brees and James Blake are also investors in the league.
Rubin will be at the MLP’s final tournament of the year this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, as a spectator and then will try to figure out his next steps. He said he wants to take his time in deciding his first event, but in the meantime he’s hoping to use the social media and marketing skills he has acquired from running “Behind the Racquet” to help continue expand pickleball’s reach.
There are many unknowns for Rubin in this next endeavor — including even what his goals are for the new sport — but he’s looking forward to the challenge and figuring it all out.
“It’s humorous, in tennis, it is all the time that straightforward resolution of I need to be within the No. 1 in international, however with pickle, it is so new to me,” Rubin said. “Of path, I’m aggressive and regardless if I’m at the court docket, I’m going to need to kick ass. I imply, that is simply how it’s. But is it in my head that I need to be the most productive on the planet? Sure. I imply it is indubitably part of it and it is all the time going to be there.
“I don’t know the specific path within the professional playing aspect. I know I have a lot of ideas for how to utilize people and other aspects in marketing and everything else, but with playing, I just want to see where my ability lies.”