Copyright timesnownews
Pickleball has found one of its youngest and most passionate fans in 12-year-old Michael Frankie, a Little League standout from Texas who can’t stop talking about his other favourite sport. “One year, right before Christmas, my great-aunt came up from Corpus Christi and told me about pickleball,” Frankie said in an interview with Pickleball.com. “I wanted to try it, and she got me some paddles. I love getting to learn a new sport and have fun playing against other people. I play whenever I get the chance. There are some courts by my house, so that’s where I go. I like to play with my friends.” His favorite athlete? Not a baseball player, but pickleball legend Ben Johns. “I like his style of play. I like how he stays aggressive, but has patience at the same time,” Frankie said. “His patience is key in pickleball, and I want to transfer that into baseball whenever I have to be patient at the plate.” Even during baseball season, pickleball isn’t far from his mind. “I’m definitely making progress,” he said. “I’m working on my backhand and my overheads right now. I would like to keep learning. I want to learn all the new techniques that I can possibly learn.” Frankie’s two-handed passion comes naturally. He’s a right-handed pitcher, but a left-handed pickleballer. “When I face righties, I do like a chop, like a sidespin serve,” he said. “It just pops around over their paddle when they try to hit it back.” His mother, Nicki, loves seeing how the sport has helped him both on and off the field. “When my aunt comes up from Corpus Christi, they’re like pickleball buddies,” she said. “They’ll play singles, and sometimes they’ll play doubles with other players. That’s something that attracted her to the sport, and he likes it, too, because they meet other people.” “Michael’s kind of shy, and when he plays, it kind of brings out the competitiveness and the friendliness at the same time,” she added. “Pickleball is such a social sport. The players enforce the rules themselves, and that helps him be accountable. It also helps him with his resiliency both on and off the baseball field.” Baseball still comes first, but pickleball isn’t far behind. “When I pitch, I get to show off my knuckleball against other people,” Frankie said. “I like to see their reaction when I throw it because it moves side to side instead of up and down and left and right. I saw the knuckleball on TV and YouTube and thought, ‘Man, I want to throw that pitch.’ I kept working on it, trying new grips, throwing at my front door, and just experimenting at home.” With that drive, “Mikey Magic” might just become the first athlete to conquer both the diamond and the pickleball court. About Indian Pickleball Association: The Indian Pickleball Association is the official governing body for pickleball in India and is dedicated to promoting, developing, and organising the sport across the country. The association continues to inspire players of all ages and skill levels to embrace the game through events like the IPA Nationals. IPA is affiliated with the Asian Pickleball Association (APA) and the Global Pickleball Federation (GPF). About Pickleball World Ranking: PWR is a national ranking system that spans all age groups, skill divisions, and formats -including singles, doubles, and mixed categories. It serves as the official National Sports Federation Ranking for India. With multiple sanctioned events taking place every week across the country, PWR defines the top Indian players at every level and forms the foundation for team selection at the school, district, state, and national stages. Stay connected with all the latest news on Pickleball, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, tips, and inspiration you won't find anywhere else. Your ultimate destination for all things pickleball – where the community comes together for news, views, and the sport that's sweeping the globe. Follow us at @pickleballnow on Instagram and be part of the community!
