Jack Sock has become the latest tennis player to embrace pickleball as he will make his professional debut at the North Carolina Open.
The American has been a casual tennis pro for a while playing events sporadically and generally not going too far away from America. Sock isn't close to the level that made him a top 10 player a few years ago and now he'll become the latest player to try himself out in professional pickleball.
There has been a pickleball crazy in the US and many tennis players participated in the sport as it's far more embraced in the States than in Europe. Sock will make his professional debut at the North Carolina Open. He will play mixed doubles with Anna Leigh Waters and men's doubles alongside Tyson McGuffin, however, there is no news about singles.
John Isner poked fun at Sock in the comments asking why he isn't playing singles. It's unclear if this is a one-off or if Sock is thinking about switching to pickleball as Noah Rubin did last year. The former junior number one quit tennis to pursue pickleball professionally.
His tennis career will have to wait a bit despite some solid performances lately. He's 2-4 on the year so far but still ranked outside of the top 100 making it hard for him to enter events he'd ideally like to play.
The statement from the PPA Tour reads:
Breaking News! Tennis star Jack Sock is making his debut in Professional Pickleball at the PPA North Carolina Open! With four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, we can't wait to see what he brings to the court in his first-ever pro pickleball tournament. Sock will be partnering with Anna Leigh Waters for Mixed Doubles and Tyson McGuffin for Men's Doubles, so stay tuned for some exciting matches ahead!
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