Players to Watch – Sarah Ansboury

One of the real trailblazers of pickleball, Sarah Ansboury first started playing the sport five years ago and quickly found herself atop the medals platform with gold medals in both Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles at the 2016 USAPA National Championships. At the US Open that same year, she took home titles in Women’s and Mixed Doubles. She also medaled four times at the 2017 USAPA Nationals.  One of them, winning gold in Women’s Doubles with her good friend, Gigi LeMaster.

Born in Turlock, California, Ansboury is currently living in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina where she is the Director of Pickleball and Touring Pro for the Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort, a magnificent 24-court facility. Ansboury has been teaching tennis for the past 15 years, but it is the sport of pickleball that has the former NCAA women’s tennis coach hooked. “The easy learning curve of the game pulls players into the sport and keeps them excited, while the entire pickleball community is so fully engaged and very social in its nature which helps make people stay.”

Away from the court, Ansboury is a driving force on the game’s development. Sarah is the Education Coordinator and Lead Clinician for PPR — Professional Pickleball Registry who is the educational partner of the USAPA. While still touring the world training players and coaches, Sarah also hits the courts competitively. “I travel the world working with recreational and advanced players to improve their all-around game technically, mentally, strategically and through improved fitness.”

As one of the sport’s leading ambassadors, Ansboury knows all too well what Indian Wells and its hosting of the sport’s elite event means to the sport. “We get to play in one of the most famous tennis venues in the entire world. For a lot of us, it means a great deal.  But, to have Indian Wells recognize the growth of pickleball means we are all moving in the right direction. We keep growing and that’s really all we want.”