Ben Johns appears on CNN to talk pickleball, offers valuable tip for viewers

The Kitchen Team

Covering all things pickleball

Last Edited

Jul 08 2025

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News

Ben Johns was a guest on CNN News Central with Erica Hill on Friday morning while in New York for this weekend's Major League Pickleball event.

Hill and Johns discussed a wide variety of topics during the interview, from Johns' first experience with the game to the huge growth of the sport both at the amateur and pro level in recent years. He also offered a valuable tip for amateur players toward the end of their conversation.

Here are a few of the questions and answers from Johns' appearance on the network:

Hill: Did you ever imagine that you would be a professional pickleball champion?

Johns: Absolutely not. I just picked it up in 2016 as kind of a fun game, just like anybody that plays normally. It's a very enjoyable sport, and some nine years later, I find myself playing professional pickleball tournaments in New York City and here in a wonderful studio, so it's a cool life.

Hill: There's been a huge increase in the number of non-professional athletes who are playing pickleball. What's it like, though, on the circuit? How much has that changed?

Johns: It's only five years in. The pro tour started in 2020. Just miraculous growth in every way. Fans are super engaged, more networks covering events, and more and more pro players, so on the circuit it's more and more competitive. There's also more selection of tournaments internationally. We're going to Asia later this year. It's been a very cool journey so far, and I'm just looking forward to all the things happening in pro pickleball.

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Hill: What do you love most about the sport?

Johns: There's a lot of things about pickleball that are really engaging, but it was the same for me initially as it is for most people now, which is just that you can play with anybody and have a great time. I started in a community where it was mostly elderly people, and I still enjoyed playing with them. I love to just meet new people, and I think that has continued, not just to be a sport for older people, but a sport for everybody. Anybody can play, and because of that you meet a lot of people you wouldn't otherwise meet in kind of your normal day-to-day lifestyle, so it's just a very interesting sport in that it kind of brings a lot of people together from very different backgrounds.

Hill: You're on this incredible run, and yet at the ripe old age of 26, I hear you're thinking maybe by 30 you throw in the padel? Really?

Johns: We'll see. I never plan my life out that far ahead. I'm just enjoying every day, every year one at a time. If I get to 30 and I'm just like, 'You know what? I've had enough. It's been fun,' then sure, but if I still love it at that time, then I'll keep going.

Hill: What's your No. 1 tip for the amateur pickleballers out there?

Johns: You don't need to go for the "hero" shot. You don't want to be a "zero" when you go for the "hero" shot. Pickleball is all about making one more ball. It's really not that hard. You just don't need to go for too much at a time. Pickleball really comes down to shot selection more than anything for success, so just make one more ball than your opponents, and you'll win the game.

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