We reported last week that the APP (Association of Pickleball Players) had unveiled the lineups for Team USA and Team Europe, which will compete in the inaugural APP Atlantic Cup on March 20, 22, and 24 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Winning Gold With Her Mom!
One of the most prominent names on the Team USA roster was the Kentuckian, the ole Louisville slugger herself, Riley Bohnert. With a formidable doubles DUPR of 5.41, The Milwaukee Masher is among the most highly-rated players around. Indeed, she won the 2022 APP Indianapolis Open, one of the first tournaments she played in, partnering with her mom!
Still only 19, Bohnert also played on national television and even featured in Sports Center’s Top 10 moments of the week last year.
She tells Wave 3 News she has been in love with the sport from the first time she played at age 15: “I literally turned to my dad and said, ‘Dad, I have to play this sport. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life.’”.
Pickleball Saved Her Life
Bohnert says she found pickleball when she was at her lowest point, and it saved her life.
“Sophomore year of high school, I became very depressed,” Bohnert says. “I had never had those feelings before of basically wanting to end my life. My dad took me on a drive one day and told me, ‘Riley, you’re depressed, and we need to find a way to make you happy again.’ And I found Pickleball.”
Fast-forward four years, and now Bohnert has made pickleball a career. She’s ditched college and joined the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) professional tour full-time, earning a living through sponsorships and traveling around the country.
“I’m Going To Play Professionally”
“I was going to go to Tampa University, but then I went to APP New York, and I got bronze with my friend Emily (Ackerman – 5.54 Doubles DUPR),” Bohnert said. “I called my dad, and I said, ‘Dad, I’m not going to college, I’m going to play pickleball professionally.”
Bohnert says her parents are her biggest support system. Her dad is her coach, and her mom, as we have already read, is a teammate.
Bohnert encourages anyone looking for a new sport and community to get involved.
“This is for life,” Bohnert said. “I mean, you can play all the way to senior pro. And then there’s super senior pro when you’re 70 plus. So yeah, I’m committed.”
