Jack Sock wins mixed doubles title in his first-ever professional pickleball tournament

American tennis star Jack Sock played his first professional tournament in pickleball and won the mixed doubles title at the PPA North Carolina Open.

Sock participated in all three categories - singles, doubles and mixed doubles - and managed to win the title in the mixed doubles category with 16-year-old World No. 1 pickeball player Anna Leigh Waters. Sock, who is a four-time doubles Grand Slam champion, also managed to reach the quarterfinal of the men's singles event.

The 30-year-old reflected on his time at the tournament in an Instagram post, stating that he was happy win his first title in a new sport in his first ever event. He thanked his much younger but very established partner for teaming up with him and said that he hopes to return to the pickleball court soon.

"One tournament. One 🥇 I had such a fun time competing in my first PPA event and to cap it off with a title made it even more special! Big thanks to ALW for teaming up with me, let’s run it back sometime! Til next time pickleball…," Sock wrote.

Sock has expressed his love for pickleball in the past and hopes to be a "dual-sport guy," professionally playing both tennis and pickleball. However, the Olympic gold medalist does not want to fully transition into a pickleball player just yet and wants to continue playing tennis at the highest level.

Jack Sock's plans for the 2023 ATP season

Jack Sock hopes to play at the Roland Garros

On the tennis side of things, Jack Sock has not played tour-level singles match since losing to Czech Republic's Tomas Machac in the opening round of the Houston Open on 5 April. The American has only won 2 singles matches this year and played in four tournaments. Once a top 10 player, his recent slump in form has seen him slip down to World No. 226 in the ATP Live Ranking.

Sock is also a prolific doubles player and has seen most of his success with a partner on the court, reaching as high as World No. 2 ranking in doubles. However, he hasn't played much doubles either in the 2023 season. Sock skipped the Australian Open and competed in only one doubles tournament so far this year at the 2023 Indian Wells Open. At the Masters event in California, Sock partnered with fellow American John Isner and reached the semifinal of the men's doubles draw. However, they fell to the Indian-Australian pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden in straight sets.

Jack Sock has said that he hopes to play in Paris, entering the main draw of the 2023 Roland Garros doubles tournament later this month with Isner. He is also looking to get into the main draw of the singles tournament via qualifying rounds.