Pickleballers Season 2, Episode 7: Matt Wright on rivalries, breakups & the future of pickleball
Last Edited
Dec 04 2025
Category
News
Matt Wright is one of the most polarizing, respected and mysterious players in pickleball — and somehow, he had never done a real pickleball podcast … until now.
At 48 years old, he’s still making PPA finals, still out-thinking kids half his age and still one of the most entertaining players on tour. In this week’s episode of Pickleballers, Matt sits down with Roscoe and Jared to finally tell his full story: From obsessed tennis kid in Wichita, to No. 1 at Michigan with Tom Brady in his dorm, to discovering pickleball through a made-up “mini tennis” game with a wooden mallet.
He opens up about the first U.S. Open, early days with Lucy Kovalova, his loyalty to Connor Pardoe and the PPA through the tour wars, the Riley Newman breakup, what it was really like playing with Ben Johns, the Julian Arnold rivalry, cheating vs. trash talk, and why he thinks pickleball is at a crossroads: Chess match or power game?
Check out the latest episode of Pickleballers on YouTube or Spotify.
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