Ben Johns – 2019 Player Biography
One of the bright young stars on the professional pickleball circuit, Ben Johns has been playing the sport for a relatively short period of time and, in just three-and-a-half years, has accumulated a vast array of medals and titles at some of the sport’s top events. In 2018, Johns captured a gold medal in Men’s Singles Pro at the Tournament of Champions where he also took home a silver medal in Mixed Doubles Pro. He also won gold at the Beer City Open in Men’s Singles and Doubles Pro and won gold medals in both Men’s and Mixed Doubles Pro at the SoCal Summer Classic. At the 2017 USAPA National Championships, he won gold in Men’s Singles 19+ along with a bronze and silver medal in Men’s Doubles Pro and Men’s Singles Pro respectively.
Currently a student at the University of Maryland majoring in Materials Engineering, Johns grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland playing tennis and table tennis. In March of 2016, he first picked up a pickleball paddle and instantly fell in love with the game. “Playing both tennis and table tennis, pickleball seemed like it was right in between the two, so I gave it a try and loved it.”
In 2017, Johns won a gold medal in Men’s Pro Singles at the US Open and swept gold medals at the Canadian Nationals in Men’s Singles Pro, Mixed Doubles Pro and Men’s Doubles Pro. “There are definitely a number of high-level tennis players getting involved in pickleball. They catch on easily and usually enjoy it. If you look at the game just a few years ago, you didn’t really see many tennis players. Now, almost all the top players have a significant tennis background.”
At the 2018 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships, he was the Men’s Doubles Open Champion with his partner Kyle Yates. At this year’s US Open, Ben captured gold in Men’s Doubles Open with Yates while earning a silver medal in Men’s Singles. He also won the Triple Crown at the 2019 Tournament of Champions and in so doing, has been the event’s Men’s Singles Champion for the past three straight years! He was also the first male player to win the Triple Crown at one of the three major events.
This year, Ben signed with Franklin Sports, the first professional player on their roster.