In this episode of Pickleballers, pro player Connor Garnett sits down with co-hosts Roscoe Bellamy and Jared Paul to walk through one of the most unlikely paths on the PPA Tour, from hitting with tennis star Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open to clocking 92-hour weeks in investment banking. The conversation covers why he bet on pickleball, how he built a brand around his two-handed backhand, and what still stands between him and the No. 1 ranking.

Connor opens up about the yips that took over his serve, cost him confidence on the sport’s biggest stages, and helped lead to his MLP trade out of Columbus. He breaks down how he won a bronze with Alix Truong in the middle of it, then rebuilt his mechanics from the ground up with help from an unlikely source: Bryson DeChambeau’s approach to the golf swing.

PLAY WITH THE PADDLE CONNOR GARNETT USES

Connor also gets into the business side of pickleball, including why he only needed to break even to leave banking, how his first Twoey hats landed right as he won the LA Open, and why investing in pickleball has put him in the rooms he used to sit silently in as an analyst. He gets honest about a slow start to 2026, recommitting to training, and turning down a bonus because he didn’t feel he’d earned the No. 2 ranking.