Rick Witsken (born January 1972) is a former American tennis player and pickleball player,[1][2][3] tennis coach,[4][5] and entrepreneur.[6][7] He is the founder of Team Witsken and[6][8][9] co-founder of the National Pickleball League (NPL).
He was a State Champion in Carmel High School[10] in 1987 and 1988.[6][11] Witsken pursued a bachelor's degree in Sports Management and Marketing from the University of Alabama.[12] At the University of Alabama, he was an NCAA tennis player and a two-time All-American.[13][6][14][15]
Witsken began his post-playing career working with his brother, Todd Witsken, at the Indianapolis Tennis Center.[5] He was the director of tennis at Woodstock Country Club.[6][16] He coaches Zionsville Eagle Rec and is the head coach of the Zionsville girls and Carmel boys and girls middle school teams.[6][1][4]
After his brother died in 1998, Witsken formulated Team Witsken Tennis in 2001.[13] It is an organization that provides professional instruction to tennis and pickleball players in Indianapolis.[6][1][9] In 2010, Witsken represented the US in the Tony Trabert Cup in New Zealand. In 2011, he and Matt Schiller defeated Matt Allare and Steve Williams 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the men's open final of the Bernard Master Tennis Classic.[14][15]
In 2021, he organized a 2-day match at Brickway Tennis and Pickleball Club.[17] In 2014, Witsken started competing in pickleball tournaments professionally.[17][18][12] Witsken founded the first public educational middle school pickleball team at Zionsville Middle School.[18][12][19]
Witsken and his wife, Bridget Witsken, lobbied to bring a pickleball tournament to Indianapolis and secured the Indianapolis Pickleball Open, an Association of Pickleball Professionals tournament.[20][5][17]
In 2020, Witsken brought the first-ever pro pickleball tournament, the Indy Open, to Zionsville.[4][21] In December 2022, he established NPL with Beth Bellamy. www.USA-NPL.com[22] In 2022, Witsken hosted the Pickleball tournament, the APP $35k Indianapolis Open, at Mt. Vernon High School in Fortville, Indiana, sponsored by Arnold Meyer Realty.[23][24][12] In January 2023, Nike Pickleball Camps, a division of US Sports Camps, teamed up with Witsken to offer multiple camp sessions at different locations in the US.[16][18]
Witsken is a two-time IHSAA State Singles Champion[12] and Indiana State Champion.[14][6][25] He received four gold medals at the US Open Pickleball Championships.[8][7][1][26][27][28] In 2019, Witsken won gold in Men's Open Doubles at International Indoor Pickleball Championship.[29] He earned gold in Pro Men's Doubles in Atlanta, Georgia[30] and at the Association of Pickleball Professionals Sacramento Open in 2022.[31]
He was world-ranked on the ATP Tour in both singles and doubles.[6][8][11] Witsken is ranked #1 on the APP Senior Pro Men's Standings[18] and Pickleball Professional in America for Pro-Seniors.[4][19]
