There is an intriguing back story to Spanish player Judit Castillo securing the bronze medal in the women’s professional singles category at the 2023 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships held in Farmers Branch, Texas.
In an interview with Stephen Hunt of Red Line Editorial, Castillo revealed her absolute elation at the achievement while also explaining the significance of this win: She only started playing pickleball in October 2022.
Her Greatest Rivals
She also defeated two of her greatest rivals at nationals: Megan Fudge and Salome Devidze. Our own Leland Orfield delves into Devidze and Fudge’s rivalry and why it was toxic for women’s singles in his article here. With Fudge now dropping out of women’s singles, Castillo is next in line and will now likely be making the finals consistently in APP women’s singles.
She shared, “It does mean a lot because this is my first Nationals ever, my first year of playing pickleball. Played against amazing competition and had to fight all the way through.
“I came into the tournament having doubts with my game, worked on it, and was really happy with the way I performed.”
Her victory path included triumphs over notable opponents such as Lacy Schneemann, Fudge, and Devidze before facing top seed Anna Leigh Waters in the semifinals, where she was defeated.
Quite Candid
Castillo was quite candid about how she saw her pre-tournament chances, saying, “Well, I would lie if I said I had expectations. To be honest, I wanted to get through the first match, and then after that one, I had Salome.
“We go back and forth; she’s an amazing competitor as well. Beating her in that match means a lot. I had Lacy in the first match. She’s super athletic. I knew that every match was going to be a battle, so super happy with being able to go all the way through.”
As a former collegiate tennis standout, Castillo credited the supportive community of Natchitoches during her time at Northwestern State for shaping her college experience positively.
Intense But Enjoyable
Transitioning from her role as the director of fitness and racquet sports to pursuing pickleball professionally, she described her first year in Major League Pickleball as intense but enjoyable.
Castillo expressed immense satisfaction with her decision to dedicate herself entirely to pickleball: “This first year has been a lot,” she said.
“I quit my job just to play pickleball, and pickleball also gave me the chance to stay in the country through the P-1 visa. I had to play a lot. I enjoyed every one of the tournaments.”
Her joy also extended to representing both Spain, her home country, and Louisiana, her adopted home state, on the medal stand.
“I Love Representing Spain”
She then talked a little about how she’s been helping to promote pickleball in her native country:
“For the last couple months, we’ve connected a lot with Spain. We’re trying to make the sport bigger over there, trying to help as much as we can by giving clinics, doing interviews, just trying to give our perspective of what we have here and what we can do over there.
“I love representing Spain,” she said. It’s my country. I love it, the culture and everything. It’s very awesome being able to represent the colors of my country.”
Inclusive Atmosphere
And even though she’s only been playing pickleball for just over a year, Castillo was also keen to point out that the sport’s inclusive atmosphere and the growing participation of younger players were two things that she found particularly appealing:
“I love the fact that I have fun when I play. I love the atmosphere; you have the band playing. We have people walking around and people cheering you on that you meet outside of the court.
“People are like, ‘Hey, I watched you play.’ Something that really amazes me right now is the amount of kids playing. More and more younger people are playing the sport.
Close-Knit Group
It actually makes me think I’m playing for myself, but I’m also setting an example for the younger generation. I think that’s one of the things that I love most about the sport.”
Lastly, Castillo attributed a portion of her success at Nationals to the unwavering support of her close-knit group from Shreveport, Louisiana, who attended the tournament:
“Well, I have friends who are like family to me right now, a lot of people from Shreveport. Some are playing in the tournament; some came just to watch.
“They have meant the world to me for the last couple years, and having them here means the world.”
