Louis Laville: A Knight on His Pickleball Crusade
The world gets small when a sport goes global. Some media outlets keep circling back to the same names, chasing an easy like, a quick share. But our team, which follows players around the world every single day, came across Louis Laville — an athlete in every sense of the word, with a flawless track record that keeps growing.
Based in London, England, Laville has spent nine years fully dedicated to professional pickleball, and in that time achieved something no other player can claim: becoming the first competitor in the sport's history to win professional medals on all six continents where pickleball is played. His trophy count is staggering: 98 professional gold medals, 33 silver, and 32 bronze — his most recent gold, won just this past weekend in Italy — for 163 professional medals in total across his career. He's an eight-time National Champion and seven-time European Champion, with multiple titles under the MLPA and PPA banners, and was drafted into the World Pickleball League. He was the first player in history to reach #1 in the world on the GPA rankings.
But the numbers, impressive as they are, don't tell the whole story. Laville hasn't just competed in every corner of the planet where pickleball is played — from Europe to Oceania, through Asia and the Americas — he's become one of the sport's most active ambassadors for global growth. In England, beyond competing, he's a co-founder of the Premier Pickleball League — a league he himself fondly describes as "my baby."
That combination of results and presence has also earned him a real platform off the court: more than 100,000 average monthly views across his social media, collaborations with various pickleball-specialized outlets, and content that has reached up to 600,000 views on a single reel. Backed by major names in the industry, Laville builds a community day by day that follows every tournament, every trip, and every new chapter of his career closely.
We connected with him through Nate Shaffer of S² Sports & Entertainment, and this is what Louis shared with us in this interview.
The Full Interview
You're the first player in history to win professional medals on all six continents. Which country or culture surprised you the most?
Honestly feel extremely fortunate to have been able to compete and travel all over the world to compete. Every country/continent has a different but sensational culture, crowds, style of play. If I had to name my favourite 3 places to play in the world it would be Vietnam, Australia & Spain! As you mentioned all six continents, there is currently one outstanding so we will see if there is ever an Antarctic Open!!
You played for the Bondi Pickleball Club in MLP Australia alongside Roos van Reek and Max Manthou. What's it like watching them shine on another continent?
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Being a part of MLP Australia last year and the Bondi Pickleball Club was one of the best experiences in my whole pickleball career! I absolutely love team events and having 3 of the nicest team mates in the sport made the season so enjoyable! As you say, Roos is on fire, but she has been practicing and training so hard in Vietnam so thoroughly deserves her success. Max is a one of a kind human, amazingly kind, knowledgeable, supportive on court, competitive as anything and seeing him compete and win all over the world is so good to see! The final person on the team, Kat Westbury! She's playing some amazing pickleball at the moment and has been medalling all over Australia! Recently drafted into MLP Australia again, I just know shes going to thrive!!!
You started in tennis before finding pickleball. Was there a specific moment that made you realize this would be your sport?
I actually used to play squash, to a fairly decent level, but by no means anywhere near pro level! I would be considered a veteran in the pickleball community, about to go through playing 10 years of pickleball later this year! I've seen and played it all — I first played Joey Farias at US Nationals in 2019, a match that still haunts me — a set and 7-1 up and then he goes on wins, and wins bronze that day! But last year and this year we teamed up for men's doubles and have had some great success and wins! I think one match we played last year, our combined years on court was over 20 and the opponents was 6 months combined..!!
With 98 gold medals and 163 professional medals in total, which one means the most to you?
Very happy for this stat to now be incorrect as I managed to win #98 over the weekend in Italy! But a few that spring to mind are playing for England and winning the European Championships in 2024, MLP Australia, winning with The Bondi Pickleball Club, and a slightly fun one was the NPL Invitational in December last year where I played with the Aussie #1 Joey Wild and managed to win the first ever Global Pickleball Alliance event as a part of the APP Tour. This combined with some good results in Malaysia and Japan got me to #1 in the world on the Global Pickleball Rankings which was special to me — this spot is now occupied by Richard Livornese Jr!
You're a co-founder of the Premier Pickleball League, your "baby." What's the hardest part of being both a player and a league builder at the same time?
I absolutely love running the Premier Pickleball League powered by The Pickleball Store — we are in Season 4 and to be honest wouldnt change any of it! The hardest part is probably how fast it keeps growing; we are only a small team but work a lot behind the scenes! We have gone from the first event on one tennis court with 36 players to now having approximately 150 competing players in Premier, Challenger and Masters Divisions as well as Pro Clinics, Festivals, Team Competitions for Amateurs! Seeing it all in action is pretty special!!
If pickleball became an Olympic sport, what would that mean to you?
It would be hugely special — I think we are still a few years off sadly but the goal of the Olympics for Pickleball is something that once achieved would be hugely special for everyone involved!
As one of the most traveled players on the circuit, what have you learned about how playing style shifts from one continent to another?
It changes a lot! And is also continuously developing due to paddle and ball technology and also different players coming in from different sports! Australia was eye opening last year with off the bounce speed ups coming at you everywhere! Europe has two distinct styles depending on which year you started — you have the 'traditional' style where kitchen points are built but everyone has fantastic hands and volley speed, to the newer players who are great drivers and aggressive players from the baseline! But I try and take some nuggets from these countries and implement them into my game a lot!
Your social media content has reached up to 600,000 views on a single reel. Do you feel like being a professional player today also means being a content creator?
No, or if not no, not deliberately! I enjoy posting videos, whether theyre light hearted or potentially informative for amateur players — you have some of the top players who are also amazing online coaches — Tanner Tomassi and Richard Livornese Jr come to mind! That being said at some tournaments/clinics I am running around finding my partners or organizers at the end of the weekend for a picture for socials..!
After nine years in your career, what still keeps you hungry to compete?
I am a hugely competitive human — this is not just on the pickleball court. Whether its playing a tournament, to winning the 'airport race', to a card game, I dont like losing! For sure I'd like to win my 100th Pro Gold — I am trying to not think about it, especially on court but this would be hugely special to me.
What would you tell the Louis who had just left tennis to try this new sport?
I say the same thing to amateurs — enjoy, compete and socialise! Pickleball is such an inclusive sport that, yes people get competitive and frustrated at times on court, but once the game is over, shake hands and enjoy the rest of your day! I am fortunate that the tournaments/Tours that I play are hugely sociable and regardless of results, players always like going for dinner/a drink with each other at the end of the day!
The world gets small when a sport goes global. Some media outlets keep circling back to the same names, chasing an easy like, a quick share. But our team, which follows players around the world every single day, came across Louis Laville — an athlete in every sense of the word, with a flawless track record that keeps growing.
Based in London, England, Laville has spent nine years fully dedicated to professional pickleball, and in that time achieved something no other player can claim: becoming the first competitor in the sport's history to win professional medals on all six continents where pickleball is played. His trophy count is staggering: 98 professional gold medals, 33 silver, and 32 bronze — his most recent gold, won just this past weekend in Italy — for 163 professional medals in total across his career. He's an eight-time National Champion and seven-time European Champion, with multiple titles under the MLPA and PPA banners, and was drafted into the World Pickleball League. He was the first player in history to reach #1 in the world on the GPA rankings.
But the numbers, impressive as they are, don't tell the whole story. Laville hasn't just competed in every corner of the planet where pickleball is played — from Europe to Oceania, through Asia and the Americas — he's become one of the sport's most active ambassadors for global growth. In England, beyond competing, he's a co-founder of the Premier Pickleball League — a league he himself fondly describes as "my baby."
That combination of results and presence has also earned him a real platform off the court: more than 100,000 average monthly views across his social media, collaborations with various pickleball-specialized outlets, and content that has reached up to 600,000 views on a single reel. Backed by major names in the industry, Laville builds a community day by day that follows every tournament, every trip, and every new chapter of his career closely.
We connected with him through Nate Shaffer of S² Sports & Entertainment, and this is what Louis shared with us in this interview.
The Full Interview
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You're the first player in history to win professional medals on all six continents. Which country or culture surprised you the most?
Honestly feel extremely fortunate to have been able to compete and travel all over the world to compete. Every country/continent has a different but sensational culture, crowds, style of play. If I had to name my favourite 3 places to play in the world it would be Vietnam, Australia & Spain! As you mentioned all six continents, there is currently one outstanding so we will see if there is ever an Antarctic Open!!
You played for the Bondi Pickleball Club in MLP Australia alongside Roos van Reek and Max Manthou. What's it like watching them shine on another continent?
LOVE PICKLEBALL?
Get Dink Authority Magazine updates, new editions, pro stories and event alerts.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
Being a part of MLP Australia last year and the Bondi Pickleball Club was one of the best experiences in my whole pickleball career! I absolutely love team events and having 3 of the nicest team mates in the sport made the season so enjoyable! As you say, Roos is on fire, but she has been practicing and training so hard in Vietnam so thoroughly deserves her success. Max is a one of a kind human, amazingly kind, knowledgeable, supportive on court, competitive as anything and seeing him compete and win all over the world is so good to see! The final person on the team, Kat Westbury! She's playing some amazing pickleball at the moment and has been medalling all over Australia! Recently drafted into MLP Australia again, I just know shes going to thrive!!!
You started in tennis before finding pickleball. Was there a specific moment that made you realize this would be your sport?
I actually used to play squash, to a fairly decent level, but by no means anywhere near pro level! I would be considered a veteran in the pickleball community, about to go through playing 10 years of pickleball later this year! I've seen and played it all — I first played Joey Farias at US Nationals in 2019, a match that still haunts me — a set and 7-1 up and then he goes on wins, and wins bronze that day! But last year and this year we teamed up for men's doubles and have had some great success and wins! I think one match we played last year, our combined years on court was over 20 and the opponents was 6 months combined..!!
With 98 gold medals and 163 professional medals in total, which one means the most to you?
Very happy for this stat to now be incorrect as I managed to win #98 over the weekend in Italy! But a few that spring to mind are playing for England and winning the European Championships in 2024, MLP Australia, winning with The Bondi Pickleball Club, and a slightly fun one was the NPL Invitational in December last year where I played with the Aussie #1 Joey Wild and managed to win the first ever Global Pickleball Alliance event as a part of the APP Tour. This combined with some good results in Malaysia and Japan got me to #1 in the world on the Global Pickleball Rankings which was special to me — this spot is now occupied by Richard Livornese Jr!
You're a co-founder of the Premier Pickleball League, your "baby." What's the hardest part of being both a player and a league builder at the same time?
I absolutely love running the Premier Pickleball League powered by The Pickleball Store — we are in Season 4 and to be honest wouldnt change any of it! The hardest part is probably how fast it keeps growing; we are only a small team but work a lot behind the scenes! We have gone from the first event on one tennis court with 36 players to now having approximately 150 competing players in Premier, Challenger and Masters Divisions as well as Pro Clinics, Festivals, Team Competitions for Amateurs! Seeing it all in action is pretty special!!
If pickleball became an Olympic sport, what would that mean to you?
It would be hugely special — I think we are still a few years off sadly but the goal of the Olympics for Pickleball is something that once achieved would be hugely special for everyone involved!
As one of the most traveled players on the circuit, what have you learned about how playing style shifts from one continent to another?
It changes a lot! And is also continuously developing due to paddle and ball technology and also different players coming in from different sports! Australia was eye opening last year with off the bounce speed ups coming at you everywhere! Europe has two distinct styles depending on which year you started — you have the 'traditional' style where kitchen points are built but everyone has fantastic hands and volley speed, to the newer players who are great drivers and aggressive players from the baseline! But I try and take some nuggets from these countries and implement them into my game a lot!
Your social media content has reached up to 600,000 views on a single reel. Do you feel like being a professional player today also means being a content creator?
No, or if not no, not deliberately! I enjoy posting videos, whether theyre light hearted or potentially informative for amateur players — you have some of the top players who are also amazing online coaches — Tanner Tomassi and Richard Livornese Jr come to mind! That being said at some tournaments/clinics I am running around finding my partners or organizers at the end of the weekend for a picture for socials..!
After nine years in your career, what still keeps you hungry to compete?
I am a hugely competitive human — this is not just on the pickleball court. Whether its playing a tournament, to winning the 'airport race', to a card game, I dont like losing! For sure I'd like to win my 100th Pro Gold — I am trying to not think about it, especially on court but this would be hugely special to me.
What would you tell the Louis who had just left tennis to try this new sport?
I say the same thing to amateurs — enjoy, compete and socialise! Pickleball is such an inclusive sport that, yes people get competitive and frustrated at times on court, but once the game is over, shake hands and enjoy the rest of your day! I am fortunate that the tournaments/Tours that I play are hugely sociable and regardless of results, players always like going for dinner/a drink with each other at the end of the day!
