Gaytan-Leach Surprised and Honored by Biofreeze Bounce Back Award

The MLP competitor returned to the court in September after giving birth in June.

By Stephen Hunt -Red Line Editorial

It’s fair to say that 2023 has already been a great year for Cierra Gaytan-Leach. After beginning the year by playing in Major League Pickleball’s first event of Season One in Mesa, Arizona, in late January, she decided to take some time off to prepare for the birth of her first child.

Her son was born in June, and by September she was back on the court. The former collegiate tennis standout at Missouri was recently redrafted into MLP’s Challenger Level, and in early November was named the women’s recipient of the 2023 Biofreeze Bounce Back Player Award.

“I was definitely not expecting that,” Gaytan-Leach said of the award. “I feel honored to have won that, and I’m just happy to be playing competitive pickleball again and I love MLP. It was a blast, and it’s an honor to win this award. I thank everyone who voted for me.”

Another MLP regular, Thomas Wilson, who successfully returned to the court one week after having emergency heart surgery, earned the men’s award. Gaytan-Leach won the award with over 70 percent of the vote, her latest high point in what has already been an incredible year.

“Yeah, it’s been my best year yet, favorite year,” she said. “Definitely rowdy I would say. Whenever the first MLP (event) was, I played in it, and then my pregnancy was really rough. I had a lot of morning sickness, more like all-day sickness, so after the Arizona MLP (event), I actually decided to take myself out of the Florida one.

“My team was so gracious. They were going to keep me, but I just was not feeling good, so after the first MLP (event) I shut it down. I delivered my son at the end of June, and I didn’t think I was going to be playing that much competitive pickleball anymore, and I’m back and here I am. A great year; it’s just been really busy.”

Like many people say after becoming a parent for the first time, Gaytan-Leach now has a different perspective on life, realizing that her focus is now solely on her son and young family.

She admits the early stages of her return to the court were difficult, but she persevered and feels her game is now in a good place.

“I had to have a C-section, so it was definitely a little rough at first to be back,” Gaytan-Leach said. “I signed with a paddle company and with Major League Pickleball, so now I’m all-in. I have a coach as well who is really helping me with my technique and working on my defense.

“Coming from tennis, I’ve (always) been more of an offensive player, which is great, but I have to have defense as well in my dinks and my drops. Now, I see pickleball a little differently than before because of my coach, and that is really helpful.”

And when asked if she had any words of wisdom for anyone trying to return to competition after a long absence due to an injury or after giving birth, she offered one simple tip.

“Honestly, just do it for you. If you enjoy it, that’s all that matters,” Gaytan-Leach said. “I’m doing this for me and to hopefully make my son proud and think his mom is cool when he gets older. As long as you enjoy it and feel like your body can handle it, I’m all for it. Just go have a good time and do your best is all you can hope for.”

Not only has she returned to the court and continued honing her game, but she also resumed one of her other passions — coaching pickleball at Tustin Hills Racquet Club in her home state of California.

“I love coaching the 50-plus ladies because the ladies are so great. A lot of them just want to have a good time,” Gaytan-Leach said. “They have this whole new group of friends, and they do wine nights together and card games. They just love being out there, so I just really enjoy that age range and just seeing how much fun they have on the court. That brings me joy and is why I love coaching, honestly.”

And even though she only returned to pickleball in September, she feels good about how her game continues progressing with her new coach.

“It’s great. This morning, we drilled for a couple hours,” Gaytan-Leach said. “I have a new paddle, the Riley Newman paddle. It just came out. That paddle forces me to drop the ball more and dink more in a better way because (before) I was kind of playing tennis out there. I need probably a couple more weeks to really perfect it, but I’m putting in the time and think drilling is really helping my game.”

Stephen Hunt is an accomplished freelance writer and sports statistician who has been blessed to cover a multitude of subjects and sports in his time. He is a freelance contributor to USA Pickleball on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.