Rick Witsken

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Rick Witsken (born January 1972) is a former American tennis player and pickleball player, [1] [2] [3] tennis coach, [4] [5] and entrepreneur. [6] [7] He is the founder of Team Witsken and [6] [8] [9] co-founder of the National Pickleball League (NPL).

Contents

Education

He was a State Champion in Carmel High School [10] in 1987 and 1988. [6] [11] Witsken pursued a bachelor's degree in Sports Management and Marketing from the University of Alabama. [12] At the University of Alabama, he was an NCAA tennis player and a two-time All-American. [13] [6] [14] [15]

Career

Witsken began his post-playing career working with his brother, Todd Witsken, at the Indianapolis Tennis Center. [5] He was the director of tennis at Woodstock Country Club. [6] [16] He coaches Zionsville Eagle Rec and is the head coach of the Zionsville girls and Carmel boys and girls middle school teams. [6] [1] [4]

After his brother died in 1998, Witsken formulated Team Witsken Tennis in 2001. [13] It is an organization that provides professional instruction to tennis and pickleball players in Indianapolis. [6] [1] [9] In 2010, Witsken represented the US in the Tony Trabert Cup in New Zealand. In 2011, he and Matt Schiller defeated Matt Allare and Steve Williams 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the men's open final of the Bernard Master Tennis Classic. [14] [15]

In 2021, he organized a 2-day match at Brickway Tennis and Pickleball Club. [17] In 2014, Witsken started competing in pickleball tournaments professionally. [17] [18] [12] Witsken founded the first public educational middle school pickleball team at Zionsville Middle School. [18] [12] [19]

Witsken and his wife, Bridget Witsken, lobbied to bring a pickleball tournament to Indianapolis and secured the Indianapolis Pickleball Open, an Association of Pickleball Players tournament. [20] [5] [17]

In 2020, Witsken brought the first-ever pro pickleball tournament, the Indy Open, to Zionsville. [4] [21] In December 2022, he established NPL with Beth Bellamy. www.USA-NPL.com [22] In 2022, Witsken hosted the Pickleball tournament, the APP $35k Indianapolis Open, at Mt. Vernon High School in Fortville, Indiana, sponsored by Arnold Meyer Realty. [23] [24] [12] In January 2023, Nike Pickleball Camps, a division of US Sports Camps, teamed up with Witsken to offer multiple camp sessions at different locations in the US. [16] [18]

Accomplishments

Witsken is a two-time IHSAA State Singles Champion [12] and Indiana State Champion. [14] [6] [25] He received four gold medals at the US Open Pickleball Championships. [8] [7] [1] [26] [27] [28] In 2019, Witsken won gold in Men's Open Doubles at International Indoor Pickleball Championship. [29] He earned gold in Pro Men's Doubles in Atlanta, Georgia [30] and at the Association of Pickleball Professionals Sacramento Open in 2022. [31]

He was world-ranked on the ATP Tour in both singles and doubles. [6] [8] [11] Witsken is ranked #1 on the APP Senior Pro Men's Standings [18] and Pickleball Professional in America for Pro-Seniors. [4] [19]

Personal life

Witsken lives with his wife and three children in Zionsville, Indiana. [4] [14] [28]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kennedy, Ryan (2021-05-27). "Rick Witsken: Earning His Medals". Towne Post Network - Local Business Directory. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  2. ↑ admin (2022-05-31). "APP Tour New York City Open – 5 Takeaways – Koooooop". NML Pickleball. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  3. ↑ "Tide Tennis Throwback". University of Alabama Athletics. 2014-10-20. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Reporter, Melissa Gibson The Lebanon (2022-10-05). "Pickleball pro". Reporter.net. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  5. 1 2 3 "Fans and athletes flock to region for first ever Indianapolis Pickleball Open". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Bio – Rick Witsken - Suncoast Pickleball Association". suncoastpickleball.com. 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  7. 1 2 "Rick Witsken". Paddletek Pickleball. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  8. 1 2 3 "Day 3 Notebook: Pickleball Action Is Heating Up".
  9. 1 2 Dow, Julie (2017-07-04). "Team Witsken: Building better futures with tennis". WISH-TV | Indianapolis News | Indiana Weather | Indiana Traffic. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  10. ↑ "Pickleball's popularity explodes in Indiana, across the country". wthr.com. September 28, 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  11. 1 2 "Doyel: Tennis in Indy has a great past, but murky future". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Witsken's week includes U.S. Open, match against Brees • Current Publishing". 2022-09-13. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  13. 1 2 "All-time great high school teams: Boys tennis - North Central 1988". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Witsken, Schiller defeat OSU duo in open final". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  15. 1 2 "Witsken, Schiller defeat OSU duo in open final". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  16. 1 2 "Nike Pickleball Camps Announces Partnership With APP #1 Senior, Rick Witsken". PRWeb. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  17. 1 2 3 Hanley, Kit (2021-12-12). "The fastest growing sport in America -- Pickleball makes its way to Terre Haute". WTHI-TV. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Coach Profile | Camp Director - Rick Witsken".
  19. 1 2 "Meet The Pros - Rick Witsken". PickleballCentral.com. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  20. ↑ "Inaugural pickleball tournament coming to Zionsville • Current Publishing". 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  21. ↑ "Pioneers of pickleball in Indianapolis continue to see growth in the sport". wthr.com. July 12, 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  22. ↑ Boss, Todd. "Pickleball's Alphabet Soup: A Guide To All The Acronyms In The Sport". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  23. ↑ "Jillian and Ryan learn how to play Pickleball from a pro". Fox 59. 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  24. ↑ "APP $35K Indianapolis Open hosted by Rick Witsken Sponsored by Arnold Meyer Realty". www.pickleballtournaments.com. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  25. ↑ "Current Senior Pro Pickleball Rankings (as of November 5, 2021)". Pickleball University. 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  26. ↑ "Fans and athletes flock to region for first ever Indianapolis Pickleball Open". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  27. ↑ by (2021-08-20). "Sr Pro Men's Doubles GOLD - 2021 US Open - Moore/Witsken vs Morariu/Granot, Pickleball Channel, on August 20, 2021 at 7:00 am - ExpertPickleball.com". expertpickleball.com. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  28. 1 2 "See photos of professional, amateur pickleballers battling in Zionsville". www.indystar.com. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  29. ↑ "Locally: Tyson McGuffin takes home two medals at International Indoor Pickleball Championship | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  30. ↑ "Pickleball Tournament Coming to Johnson Ranch Pickleball Complex" . Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  31. ↑ "Johnson Ranch plays home to Northern California's first professional pickleball tournament". goldcountrymedia.com. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
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