Former Roos take on Major League Pickleball
11/5/2021 1:51:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
Patrick Smith and Yana Grechkina were both selected by the ATX Pickleballers
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas - Two former Kansas City Roo tennis players, Patrick Smith and Yana Grechkina, have been selected to play on the same Major League Pickleball (MLP) team, the ATX Pickleballers. The inaugural season kicks off this weekend with a four-day, nationally broadcast tournament at the Dreamland-Dripping Springs Entertainment Center in Texas. Eight teams of four players – two men and two women, will be competing today through Monday, with every game being live streamed on the MLP Youtube and CBS Sports. The eight teams that were selected to participate in the inaugural launch of the MLP season will compete in a round-robin, with each team playing one another over the course of the weekend. The ATX Pickleballers team is composed of No. 1 overall draft pick Catherine Parenteau, Tyler Loong, Grechkina, & Smith. The ATX Pickleballers will take up their paddles against the other teams this weekend with a $150,000 cash prize on the line for the winning team.
"It's been cool to see two of our best tennis players of all-time jump in and dominate the fastest-growing sport in the United States," Kansas City Tennis Head Coach Kendell Hale said. "To be selected for this event, you have to be the best of the best. Pat and Yana are making the Roo Tennis family proud."
Pickleball can be described as a combination of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. It can be played as doubles or singles, with players using a paddle to hit a wiffle ball over the net. Pickleball can be played both indoors and outdoors on a badminton-sized court with a slightly modified tennis net. Pickleballers can be ranked with the Dreamland Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) ranging from 1.0-5.5+. Players with a rating of 5.5+ are considered high-caliber players in the league. The MLP is a new league for pickleball and hopes that in hosting this inaugural tournament they will make a lasting impact, and expand the reach of the sport.
Smith came to Kansas City from Munich, Germany in 2007 and was a standout athlete and scholar all four years with the Roos. He finished his career at Kansas City in 2010 as Summit League Player of the Year. Smith had 41 doubles and 40 singles victories in his KC career, with both marks ranking top-five in program history. With a DUPR doubles rating of 6.532, he is well regarded in the community for his quick reflexes and strong ground strokes.
While at Kansas City, Grechkina had a 43-40 career singles record. She holds a tie for the seventh-most singles victories in program history, and with a .518 career win percentage, she also has the tenth-best singles win percentage in program history. On the pickleball court, Grechkina has a singles DUPR rating of 5.508 and a doubles DUPR rating of 5.490, putting her in the ranks of top-caliber pickleballers in the league.Â
The tournament has begun in Dreamland and will end this Monday, with the winning team taking home the $150,000 cash prize. Be sure to tune in on either the MLP Youtube or CBS Sports, to support our former Roos as they take their paddles up against some of the top pickleballers in the league. ATX began its weekend with a loss to BLQK, and are next scheduled to play at 3 p.m. The team will have matches tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Monday at 10:30 a.m.
Players Mentioned
