Jack Sock and ALW's Debut on Championship Sunday

Jack sock has the eyes of both the tennis and pickleball world upon him today he's paired up and pickleball mixed doubles with Anna Lee Waters the number one player in the world they see gold in North Carolina welcome to Charlotte North Carolina for the carvana PPA tour it's time for the ninth stop which is the North Carolina open the OS first North Carolina open [Music] Championship court is a buzz here in The Hornet's Nest as Jack sock is making his professional pickleball debut this weekend in North Carolina and get this he's made it all the way to the championship match for Pro mix doubles alongside Annalee Waters I'm Cameron Irwin Dave Fleming our resident Senior Pro pickleball player and man is this going to be a good one Dave Fleming we've got Jack song look at this guy up at the kitchen line yeah it's been fun to see him obviously his tennis background is remarkable got as high as number eight in singles he is without question the guy you wanted tennis doubles on the court and guess what he's the guy in mixed doubles you want next to him today if you're Anna Lee Waters it has been fun to watch that transition and this is a guy that absolutely loves pickleball Cameron and his hands and everything at the kitchen is gonna be fun to watch today well let's introduce you to the number one player in the world in the game of pickleball Anna Lee Waters get this she's just 16 years old take a look at the number of goals in this year alone yeah she's a dominant player just got her driver's license so look out out there if she's near you but uh has all the skills has power has quickness she is so fun to watch and these two love to play fast they have been all about the shake and bake throughout the weekend so much power so much Pace coming off both of their paddles it's just so fun they only have a couple tournaments together or excuse me practices together but nonetheless they have been phenomenal as has that gentleman Riley Newman one of the top Pros in the men's game just 30 years old out of the great state of Washington yes so athletic you're gonna see him flying all around the court and he wants to take over he wants to be the force he's sick of hearing about Jack sock he wants the title well and so somebody else also wants their first title on the carvana PPA tour and that's Elise Jones she is a defensive hero she is going to be diving everywhere cam the crowd absolutely loves to watch this woman Play She always leaves it on the line when she steps on the court she doesn't just leave it on the line she leaves it on the court known to be one of the most defensive players she's going to be diving all over the place she had one of the best highlights on the entire weekend as you now look to some of the keys to the match we talked about the shake and bake we'll explain that as we go so they are going to drive the ball and look to poach and make them so nervous up the kitchen line they want to play Fast pancake brunch is the grip Riley Newman is forehand dominant so he is going to want to make that happen and then as we mentioned Elise Jones can a defense we talk about it we hear it in other sports can defense win this Championship we'll find out it's going to be a lot of offense first a lot of Defense between these two teams we'll play best two of three game one time each game is played to 11 points and it is a double side out and the first to Riley Newman and Elise Jones pancakes already here we go if you're new to the game of pickleball you only score points when you are serving hence Jones and Newman get their first and the quick hands you're going to see a lot of those exchanges we call them hands battles and for good reason yeah you're only 14 feet away seven on each side of the net so you have to have quick hands and that's what sock brought over to pickleball from his tennis game Before Time Grand Slam champion Jack sock highest world ranking of number two you mentioned it doubles there's a look at the power of Anna Lee Waters I mean we're talking about someone that has won so many medals you don't even want to know what the trophy case looks like they've got to dedicate a whole room to it yeah it might you might need a second home second serve right now looking for that third shot Drive there's different ways to get to the kitchen line that's the most advantageous Court position you can be at as the trickler comes sorry not sorry from uh Elise Jones there they'll take any advantage they can get so you've got the Baseline the kitchen line and the center line oh my goodness the ball is everywhere right now we saw a couple dinks too we did see a couple but these guys are playing fast you even saw a lob from soccer he made a sports center top 10 with a tweener lob from this weekend I think it gets caught there a little surprise yeah I just didn't have the paddle set and pulled it wide there and three two one quick start for Jones and Newman oh yeah Riley Newman patrolling the middle finds their fourth timeout targeted Jack sock with the third shot drops and they're making him play a lot of balls off the ground and that is smart as he is new to the pro pickleball world so let's see if he can handle it so a quick start for these four as they are flying up at the kitchen [Music] well there's been a full weekend of pickleball but let's take a look at the road to gold for Annalee Waters and Jack stock how did they get here yeah really impressive they didn't drop a game until the semi-finals and then they were pushed they dropped game one to Vivian David and Julian Arnold and we're down in game three but rallied back to get the chance to play for gold here today so making his professional pickleball debut if he walks away with gold I mean Hello World hello world one looking for a speed up oftentimes you'll see that up at the kitchen line starting that fire fight this is also a big moment for Elise Jones as she's looking to earn her very first gold medal on the carvana PPA tour of the moment that you will remember forever if you're a pickleball Pro especially with who the opponent is here point in terms of some of the backgrounds as well Riley Newman played tennis Seattle University as you look to their road too yeah and Elise Jones and Riley Newman had a tough road and in their quarterfinal against the brother and sister JW and Georgia Johnson they had to save a match point against they could have lost that point they wouldn't be here but that's pickleball you got to fight your way here and they are off to a great start in the gold medal match [Applause] to two a fast start for Jones and Newman in today's gold medal matchup versus Jack sock and Annalee Waters and the track continues I mean this is some very quick play coming Dave very quick very smart to keep dropping the ball in front of Jack sock and making him figure it out and they're just converging on him let's see the little head shake from Jack sock and again this is not just a tennis pro coming over this man has been training three nights a week in pickleball after tennis training what absolutely I mean he loves it he wanted to do well obviously he has getting to the gold medal match here he has put in the time to earn this right that Paul called out of bounds you can see tried to go for a little pseudo Ernie there hopping over the corner yeah and he he's seen all right Elise Jones in that defense already all his stuff's coming back so he tried to hit it through or might have hit it too we do have a challenge here cam so they're going to review this call whether the ball was in or out of bounds you mentioned in the defense of Elise Jones let's get to know her a little bit more originally out of Utah Valley University where she was a volleyball player and get this she was a libero so as you take a look is this ball in bounds or out of bounds really close on the back Baseline so we have our referees taking a look at this Gotta See clear enough to over turn this on the Baseline there and this has been a dominating start for these two very smart strategically Jack with his hands likes the ball in the air to see that to show the fast hands they've bounced the ball in front of him and made him figure it out from there so really good strategic game plan from Jones and Newman coming into this match there's another angle and if you're new to the game of pickleball it's important to note the ball does not compress like a tennis ball so you're going to draw a line directly through the middle of that and have that determine whether it's just on the edge of the line yeah from that second angle it looked like it was indeed deep and that would bring us rapidly to a game point for Jones and Newman saw a couple Helping Hands on the side of the Court Lee Waters mom to Anna Lee Waters and former partner dealing with a little bit of an injury coming off an ACL injury she is hopeful to be back on the court she now coaches this Duo throughout this North Carolina tournaments they have no time after mining no video challenges we resume play it's into two so call stands as we thought it would it's Don Stanley our head referee delivering the news and the news is not good for Waters and sock they gotta go Riley looking to get that much more aggressive and you can see how the play Styles kind of start to shape out Elise Jones the defensive minded player she'll drop off that kitchen line her job is just to get that ball back each time and Riley again quick with that two-hand backhand two-handed backhand is one of the best in the game and he will be ready for anything flying at it as well Elise Jones be ready for that flying at her takes it off the finger yeah which is perfectly legal anything below the wrist pick it over cam but that's the perfect another game point here there's the forehand speed up for Jack stock we saw him work so heavily with that to get to this point really that inside out looking cross-court as well [Applause] combination from Jack there and just needs a little bit of confidence now going into that it's a big hole to climb out of they're capable certainly not as easy to put a pickleball away like a tennis in terms of the overhead yeah usually in tennis you'll bounce that into the 15th row but this pickleball will not do that so you'll see long rallies off of overheads okay and all of a sudden socks feet are moving that much faster yeah so he went to the outside on the blast winner and now down the middle beats Riley Newman so okay Jack here we go foreign we saw it a few times but it's going to be tough to lob over Riley Newman yeah that's a very athletic tall dude that's a tough task and game one to Elise Jones and Riley Newman emphatic fashion for those two they came in with a strategy and it played in their favor they were terrific and it was funny everybody stopped in that ball almost stayed in but that's as dominant a game one as you can have in a gold medal match Jones and Newman get game but number one 11-3 over Waters and sock Jones and Newman are rocking it or at least they were in game number one they look to create some points here now down by four how can they get it done Dave gotta go back to putting the ball on the ground in front of Jack and they did a great job with that sockets made a nice adjustment himself in staying patient and then getting the chance to set himself or his partner Anna Lee Waters up and that's why we love pickleball we say Chestnut Checkers because you gotta solve a puzzle and you have to solve it quickly because if you get run over like they did in game number one you cannot go back to the same thing and smart buy sock and Waters you wouldn't think intuitively that hitting the ball near Riley Newman is the right thing but on the left side of his body problem solving comes at a premium in the game of pickleball if you're just joining in you're getting a chance to see Batman Jack stock make his professional pickleball debut this weekend in North Carolina former world number two I mean six two one tennis doubles now he's finding he might have a shot at gold on the pickleball court second serve he says he doesn't have a backhand and so there's proof six two sliding again these two better start getting a little bit more weary of that middle Elise Jones and Riley Newman it's a little bit of a dance for mixed doubles and just their second tournament together so trying to work that out second tournament together for Newman and Jones first tournament together for sock and Waters Jones 35 years of age mother to three and a little uh side of the Court shift here for Newman and Jones and that doesn't work nice job that's called an Ernie you're allowed to jump over the kitchen it is a flat surface but can't step in it great footwork from sock bye-bye ball and Jack sock having some success right now speeding up to the right side of Elise Jones's body yeah she's setting up to defend on the two-handed backhand so a narrow opening there but he keeps finding it [Applause] I mean the chatter doesn't stop no there's an ongoing dialogue with Jack and anyone that'll listen especially Riley and that skids off the tape and you want to talk 180 in a match cam my goodness this final will be played that's two of three so if water's in stock pick up this second we'll move to a third stock working with the Perseus paddle made a shift through the Journey of this tournament comes out in June if you want to get your own one of the best poachers in the game of tennis trying to find it on the pickleball court he wanted a walk-off and there would have been significant chirping had that gone over game two the waters and socks you know what that means we're playing three cam all right look back at game point all about the drive he takes off the hat says thanks for the second let's go to three come play where the pros play and these are your next opportunities we head to Atlanta next then Texas and back to the West Coast nothing like playing alongside these Pros no you can get your tickets and see this see it in person folks if you're nearby and then I don't care what level you are this sport has taken the country by storm come out and play yourself it's so much fun and then come see these superstars in action and what a match we have here we'll switch ends at six here cam in game number three but uh which will work will it be the shake and bake of these two that was so dominant or will Riley Newman take over in the middle we'll find out it all comes down to this game number three played to 11 points Elise Jones Riley Newman Jack sock and Annalee Waters fire in the eye of Elise Jones we've seen this time and time again from her one of the ultimate competitors in the game come in zero zero two looks like Riley trying to show he's gonna try and protect a little bit more that middle make him feel uncomfortable on the opposing side couple wild deflections off the top of the net but they've gone back to what works so well in game number one dropping that ball in front of Jack and then Riley crashing into the middle so adjustment to adjustment and speaking of adjustment because they are on an odd score Jones and Newman do not want to switch sides of the court and have to come flying across there with all of these big forehands and backhands coming at them if they were to do that it's called unwinding the stack and it just opens up the cord and if your return Isn't excellent you're going to be in trouble dude just straddle the center line and go at one another one one of the biggest differences between tennis and pickleball is some of the compact Strokes you have to find at the kitchen line [Applause] picks up a winner on a defensive play got the backhand have the hands up Newman had committed to the other side both sides hitting overheads that's why we love pickleball offense to defense and back and it's a defensive shot from sock that is the winner thank you Jackson talking about it Riley Newman is everywhere you even saw Bert yeah so we have an Ernie when you jump in front and across the kitchen line on your side but if you go in front of your partner it's a bird and the track just continues Jack stock we know so much about him and his tennis career Annalee water is also just a force to be reckoned with just 16 years old grew up playing soccer was even invited to go play underneath a professional team in Germany on the field but decided to stick with pickleball now the number one player good choice one of the best players on the move Elise Jones comes for more of a limited tennis background she was a volleyball player also spent some time playing softball growing up foreign staring down Riley Newman as he comes across picking off anything that might be floating a little bit from Elise Jones and the turnaround continues as they're off to another hot start here in game number three one of the best backhands in pickleball yeah and what they love is to wreck that third and then Annalee Waters we talked about the soccer background her feet are so important to her pickleball game that she can poach with that two-handed backhand what did you [Applause] say it's a mirror the mirror Anna Lee on the prior rally with the two-handed backhand and Jack stock flying across there with the forehand this is impressive I mean that guy just took two steps and he went the entire length of the pickleball court yeah and this is a guy that has seen angles and a different type of Racket but a paddle and pickleball cam is just on fire we're getting to see the best players in the world here three-year participation growth rate over 150 percent talked about it's a smaller Court versus tennis and what's so great about it is it's perfect for all ages it's a lifestyle for so many it is healthy people are out there moving their body and they're having so much fun the camaraderie that comes for this and what we love to say so easy to learn really hard to master you can't play enough I don't know anyone that's quit a look at Lee Waters and to your point it really is for everyone and it brings to mind even the three youngsters of Elise Jones he's got her oldest daughter Leah she's been sitting on the court alongside her they are incredible pickleball players these kids getting out there Mick is eight cal six you can see him just in every single tournament and it's so fun to watch the growth not even at the professional level which is phenomenal there's a look at Leah but also at the amateur ranks I mean this has really brought so much fun and joy to the country it has and what other activity can you do that is athletic and you can put 80 year olds and 12 year olds on the same court and they're all having a blast and talk about having a blast the man in red is having one heck of a time here in games two and three six to one looping that through and in formation doesn't work out in Sports no unless this is a nice run up the middle on Third and one and nearly the exact same thing you start to poach there's a lot of Alleyways is that a replay kid felt like it it sure did so it's time for Riley Newman and Elise Jones to make a move down by five gotta drop that ball to sock there's also something to be said though how hard it is to get that ball to drop and bounce within the kitchen because of his length yeah he's six foot three he's reaching in he's staying right on the edge of that kitchen line which is really smart point so you gotta use that second Point their Direction now off the miss two six two he has done such a great job of identifying how Elise Jones prefers to defend on the backhand side and finding that narrow margin on the right side of her body so good they're back in a Jones off the kitchen line right now yeah Jones and Newman are an energy team and I don't see it right now and they desperately need to get that going yeah I mean it's just an onslaught right now ball after ball so much coming go in that direction of Elise Jones yeah relentless players back just keep going at them Riley getting in front of Jack sock finds the speed up what can Elise Jones do can she maybe go Cross Court with the dink or the recess the ball has to bounce somewhere cam yeah definitely change the pattern a little bit to get Anna Lee to dank it back so she can set up Riley off the ground get Riley more involved on that left side right here [Music] [Applause] Don's gonna let him know one of the loudest calls from our head referee it's like your alarm going off let's see it's right there's the left foot sideline great catch there you cannot hit a ball out of the air in the kitchen three eight one little heart from the net and just to reiterate again you can not volley the ball take the ball out of the air while stepping within the kitchen that also includes Ernie's off the side your feet cannot be on that line [Applause] says really you want to try me there gives a little look back and just confidence oozing now from Jack Zack you know and it's fun I was doing a little research and Jack socks very first grand slam it actually came in a mixed doubles title with the US opened back in 2011 alongside Melanie Udan get this he was only two years older the Natalie Waters currently is 18. okay it's an absolute tennis Phenom and maybe he's a pickleball Phenom just saying if he picks up his first title in a mixed doubles match up it feels very apropos you're really similar it is now ten to three Jack sock has hit Match Point alongside the number one player in the world Annalee Waters [Applause] take home gold [Applause] a massive congratulations to Jack sock and Anna Lee Waters he made his professional pickleball debut and he's coming away with the championship [Music] just a tremendous adjustment by Jack they got run over in game number one and they flipped the switch in pure joy from these two as Jack walks into the pickleball court and says I am here and I am a champion [Music] Jack sock and Annalee Waters will get a chance to catch up with our Victors just after this a memory you're not going to want to forget pull out those cell phones take a picture of that score because Annalee Waters and Jack sock just picked up the gold here at the OS first North Carolina open standing quartzite is the third member of our crew Cameron Blackwood with our winners thanks cam Jack sock your first not only PPA gold but just pickleball title in general we talked about on Friday you said that you really wanted to make sure that Riley's length wasn't going to be an issue it wasn't that first game but what adjustments did you make I mean Riley's an unbelievable player I actually got to uh play some practice with him play some wreck games a few weeks ago uh when I was in Texas and so I got to see a little bit of it obviously I've watched him a lot on you know YouTube and all that um he's I think he's maybe the one of the best doubles players out there so I knew he was going to use his length he's very athletic very explosive so I was trying to match that because I feel like I'm kind of the same but I had a lot of help from uh the Little Goat over here as I call her all weekend helping me out setting me up well using my kind of explosiveness and reach and power as well and obviously I was uh pretty shocking in the first game but we were able to turn around get the energy going I do well off that so it was absolute blast of a weekend like we said you're only 16 but the veteran of the two here on the team what did you have to say to Jack before you guys came out to game two he's used to playing on big he's just playing on big tennis stages so I didn't really have to say anything uh when he got to pickleball court but I did feel like it was kind of a different vibe in the first game and it was the first match of the day so I feel like you know we came out a little flat but in the second game I was just like let's just go out there have fun bring some energy and you know be the athlete that you are and I think we did that in the second game we just really gelled and then took that to the third game and Jack we have to know are you going to be back is pickleball now reaching a little bit coming up to the tennis uh I mean I absolutely love the sport I love I love the game I've said all week and recently I kind of want to try to be a bridge in a gap between tennis and pickleball I know there's a little bit of uh some negativity towards each other at times but um yeah the goal maybe is to play a little bit of both at the same time and then uh yeah some point I'll probably be uh playing a lot of pickleball so I hope to see you guys around I absolutely love it so hopefully she'll play with me some more we're gonna get the choker over here over here it's from OS first it is truly an honor to present the OS first North Carolina Open Championship as as OS first is a three generation Hickory North Carolina sock company congratulations [Applause] thanks Kim [Applause] picking up the title in North Carolina we wondered what his tennis prowess translate he's holding the trophy cam it most certainly does a huge congratulations to them not surprising to see the number one player in the world playing alongside a an absolute Legend on the tennis court you know and they had to problem solve they got run over in game number one and then took over in game two and three and what a what a victory what a victory it was thanks so much for joining us here on ESPN from myself Cameron Irwin the Dave Fleming and with our crew as well as Cameron Blackwood down on the court wow what a match for Jack sock and Annalee Waters they're going home with the gold [Music]

Channel: PPA Tour

Views: 267,468

Keywords: pickleball, pro, association, ppa, tour, ppa pickleball, pickleball 2023, ppa tour, ppa tour pickleball, ppa pickleball 2023, pickleball tournament, pickleball ppa, pro pickleball, pickleball 2023 tournament, professional pickleball, north carolina, mixed doubles, final, os1st, lifetime, charlotte, championship sunday, debut, jack sock, anna leigh waters, riley newman, allyce jones, espn2

Id: 44CdbtxKjSI

Length: 37min 1sec (2221 seconds)

Published: Mon May 08 2023