14-Year-Old Pickleball Phenom Kelly Goodnow Signs with PPA Tour, Rockets into World Top 100 in First Month as a Pro

PHOENIX, April 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelly Goodnow, 14, has officially signed with the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour and is already making her mark. Goodnow reached the singles semifinals at the recent Newport PPA Challenger, catapulting to World #88 on the PPA Tour in just her first month as a professional. 

One of the youngest players ever to turn pro on the world's premier pickleball tour, Goodnow's signing this spring, at age 13, is the latest milestone in a meteoric rise that started when she picked up a pickleball paddle for the first time a year and a half ago. PPA commentator and pro Lea Jansen has compared Goodnow's singles game to tennis great and pickleball star Genie Bouchard. Goodnow is just as dangerous in women's and mixed doubles, where her athleticism and touch continue to turn heads and rack up wins.

Before turning pro, Goodnow closed out 2025 as the world's No. 1-ranked junior in 14U singles and captured two PPA World Championship titles in 14U singles and doubles. In February 2026, she was featured on the cover of Junior Spin magazine. As a junior, she qualified into pro main draws, defeated signed pros, and has won gold in 5.0 events in singles, mixed, and doubles. Since turning pro, she has already notched multiple main-draw wins against some of the world's top adult players.

Goodnow's path to the pro game was built on elite training across multiple sports. She picked up a tennis racquet at age 4 and competed through the end of 2024, winning her final junior tennis tournament before pivoting full-time to pickleball. She also carries a 6 handicap in golf. Her broader athleticism drew national attention when a video of her hole-in-one was featured on ESPN SportsCenter Next garnering over 1 million views and over 100,000 likes across various social media platforms.

Goodnow's coach, Ashlee Candelaria, sees no ceiling. "Kelly is a rare talent, and what's scary is she isn't even scratching the surface of what she can do," Candelaria said. "She's only been playing for about a year, and she learns at a pace I've almost never seen. We're nowhere close to seeing her full potential, and with the way she's growing, I have no doubt she can reach the highest levels of this sport."

SOURCE Goodnow Pickleball LLC