TAMPA, Fla. — Megan Fudge and Ryler DeHeart are a husband-wife professional pickleball pair from Belleair. They met at the University of Illinois, and while both were tennis players, they didn’t meet on the court.
“So we met playing pool at a bar,” Megan said with a laugh.
Megan was recruited from Germany while Ryler was chasing his dreams on the pro tour.
“As a pro, (my most memorable moment is) definitely playing against Rafael Nadal at Centre Court in the U.S. Open,” Ryler said.
After six years, injuries derailed this Jesuit High School grad’s tennis career. He may have put down the racquet, but together they picked up the paddles.
“During COVID, like a lot of people, we were trying to find stuff we could still do without anything being open,” Ryler said. “We saw people playing pickleball on YouTube and social media. We were like, what is this sport? We chalked up a court in our driveway when we were living in Orlando and started playing.”
“We’re very competitive people, we like to exercise, being outside, people kept talking about pickleball, and we’re like, ‘we’re not old enough to play pickleball, right?” Megan added.
From the driveway to the Association of Pickleball Professionals Tour (APP Tour), this Pinellas pair is winning and medaling in events all over the country. Megan is ranked 8th in the world pickleball rankings, and Ryler is 20th.
On tour, they typically play singles, doubles, and mixed doubles together until recently.
“All last year, we played together,” Megan said. “Which was super fun. This year, we decided to go separate ways and have a pickleball break-up.”
“She broke up with me,” Ryler added.
They don’t get too far away from each other because the family, including their two kids, now lives in their house on wheels.
“We’ve chosen the RV because of pickleball life,” Megan said. “We get to travel around the country and create stability for our kids. We have our home base with us. Last year we spent so much time in hotels, flights, Airbnb's, and restaurants.”
A journey they get to enjoy together.
“Three years later, we’ve embraced this sport that’s given us a second life at being a pro athlete again,” Megan said.
