Marcela Donatoni: A Menina do Jogo Bonito
Some players win tournaments. Others change the history of a sport in their country. Marcela Donatoni is the second kind — and she's just getting started.
In a sport that in Brazil is still laying its foundations, Donatoni arrived, competed and dominated in a way nobody had seen before. This June, the São Paulo-born player became the first Brazilian in history to win a Triple Crown at the Brasileirão de Pickleball — taking singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles in the same tournament. The Confederação Brasileira de Pickleball announced it in the simplest, most direct way possible: she makes history.
A Story That Began With a Racket and a Dream
Before the paddle, there was a racket. Marcela Donatoni played tennis from a young age and went on to compete at the collegiate level in the United States, where she earned a degree in Business and completed an MBA — both on full athletic scholarships. A trajectory that speaks of someone who doesn't do anything halfway.
It was during her final years of study that she found what would become her true calling. Pickleball found her at almost exactly the right moment. After the pandemic came the boom of the sport. Everyone started playing — her and her team included, at first just for fun. What started as entertainment got serious very fast. Donatoni competed professionally in American tournaments for more than two years before returning to Brazil with a clear mission: to build something that didn't yet exist in her country.
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Numbers That Don't Lie
When pickleball began to explode in Brazil, Marcela Donatoni was already competing — and already winning. Her results speak of someone who didn't just find her sport, but arrived to set the standard for everyone who came after.
24 gold medals in 2025. Twenty-four. In a single calendar year. A pace that would turn heads in any circuit in the world. And in 2026, with the year still unfinished, she has already added 15 more golds — on track to surpass her own historic record before December.
The Brazilian media identified her without hesitation as the player currently leading both singles and doubles in the national circuit. Not as a prospect, not as a breakthrough story — as the number one. Full stop.
The First Triple Crown in Brazilian Pickleball History
June 10, 2026 will be marked in the record books of Brazilian pickleball. That day, Marcela Donatoni won all three disciplines in the same Brasileirão event — an achievement that only a handful of names have managed in international professional circuits, and one that had never happened before in Brazil.
What makes that accomplishment even more remarkable is the context: it wasn't a weak field, it wasn't a minor event. It was winning three times in the same weekend, carrying the weight of representing something bigger than a title — the possibility of putting her name somewhere nobody had reached before.
Marcela got there. And then she celebrated with three crown emojis in the comments. No further statement needed.
Called Up for the World Championship
Alongside the historic Triple Crown came the other news: Marcela Donatoni was called up to represent Brazil at the Pickleball World Championship. It isn't her first time wearing the green and yellow — she already represented her country in 2023 at the World Cup in Peru, reaching the quarterfinals in the open category. But this call-up carries a different weight: the national team is coming for her right after she just made history on the domestic circuit.
A player who wins three disciplines in the same tournament, who develops the next generation of players at Ferruge Academy and who understands the game from the inside and the outside. At the World Championship, Brazil isn't going to show up to participate. They're going to compete — and Donatoni is one of the main reasons to believe it.
From Brazil to the APP Tour — and Back
What makes Marcela's story truly singular is that it doesn't stop at Brazil's borders. With more than two years of professional experience on the APP Tour in the United States — the circuit that brings together the best players in the world — Donatoni competes regularly on the international stage alongside players from the North American tour, building a résumé that very few Latin American athletes can match.
Absolute queen at home. Competitor on the global circuit. She didn't choose one path over the other — she chose both.
The Brand and the Team Behind Her
Donatoni carries the backing of Heroes Brand Pickleball, Skechers Brasil, Pilla Sport BR and Arena Dink — a sponsor portfolio that reflects an athlete who is already a brand as much as a competitor. Her role as a coach at Ferruge Academy puts her in a unique position: she doesn't just compete, she actively shapes the next generation of Brazilian pickleball.
On the representation front, Marcela is signed with Nate Shaffer of S² Sports & Entertainment — a clear signal that her reach extends well beyond Brazil's borders and that the international market already has her firmly on the radar.
What's Next
The World Championship on the horizon. More golds to collect at the Brasileirão. The APP Tour waiting to see more of her. And a Latin American pickleball community that is beginning to understand that Brazil has a world-class reference point in Marcela Donatoni.
She makes history. And she's not done making it.
"See you on the courts."
Some players win tournaments. Others change the history of a sport in their country. Marcela Donatoni is the second kind — and she's just getting started.
In a sport that in Brazil is still laying its foundations, Donatoni arrived, competed and dominated in a way nobody had seen before. This June, the São Paulo-born player became the first Brazilian in history to win a Triple Crown at the Brasileirão de Pickleball — taking singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles in the same tournament. The Confederação Brasileira de Pickleball announced it in the simplest, most direct way possible: she makes history.
A Story That Began With a Racket and a Dream
Before the paddle, there was a racket. Marcela Donatoni played tennis from a young age and went on to compete at the collegiate level in the United States, where she earned a degree in Business and completed an MBA — both on full athletic scholarships. A trajectory that speaks of someone who doesn't do anything halfway.
It was during her final years of study that she found what would become her true calling. Pickleball found her at almost exactly the right moment. After the pandemic came the boom of the sport. Everyone started playing — her and her team included, at first just for fun. What started as entertainment got serious very fast. Donatoni competed professionally in American tournaments for more than two years before returning to Brazil with a clear mission: to build something that didn't yet exist in her country.
LOVE PICKLEBALL?
Get Dink Authority Magazine updates, new editions, pro stories and event alerts.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
Numbers That Don't Lie
When pickleball began to explode in Brazil, Marcela Donatoni was already competing — and already winning. Her results speak of someone who didn't just find her sport, but arrived to set the standard for everyone who came after.
24 gold medals in 2025. Twenty-four. In a single calendar year. A pace that would turn heads in any circuit in the world. And in 2026, with the year still unfinished, she has already added 15 more golds — on track to surpass her own historic record before December.
The Brazilian media identified her without hesitation as the player currently leading both singles and doubles in the national circuit. Not as a prospect, not as a breakthrough story — as the number one. Full stop.
The First Triple Crown in Brazilian Pickleball History
June 10, 2026 will be marked in the record books of Brazilian pickleball. That day, Marcela Donatoni won all three disciplines in the same Brasileirão event — an achievement that only a handful of names have managed in international professional circuits, and one that had never happened before in Brazil.
What makes that accomplishment even more remarkable is the context: it wasn't a weak field, it wasn't a minor event. It was winning three times in the same weekend, carrying the weight of representing something bigger than a title — the possibility of putting her name somewhere nobody had reached before.
Marcela got there. And then she celebrated with three crown emojis in the comments. No further statement needed.
Called Up for the World Championship
Alongside the historic Triple Crown came the other news: Marcela Donatoni was called up to represent Brazil at the Pickleball World Championship. It isn't her first time wearing the green and yellow — she already represented her country in 2023 at the World Cup in Peru, reaching the quarterfinals in the open category. But this call-up carries a different weight: the national team is coming for her right after she just made history on the domestic circuit.
A player who wins three disciplines in the same tournament, who develops the next generation of players at Ferruge Academy and who understands the game from the inside and the outside. At the World Championship, Brazil isn't going to show up to participate. They're going to compete — and Donatoni is one of the main reasons to believe it.
From Brazil to the APP Tour — and Back
What makes Marcela's story truly singular is that it doesn't stop at Brazil's borders. With more than two years of professional experience on the APP Tour in the United States — the circuit that brings together the best players in the world — Donatoni competes regularly on the international stage alongside players from the North American tour, building a résumé that very few Latin American athletes can match.
Absolute queen at home. Competitor on the global circuit. She didn't choose one path over the other — she chose both.
The Brand and the Team Behind Her
Donatoni carries the backing of Heroes Brand Pickleball, Skechers Brasil, Pilla Sport BR and Arena Dink — a sponsor portfolio that reflects an athlete who is already a brand as much as a competitor. Her role as a coach at Ferruge Academy puts her in a unique position: she doesn't just compete, she actively shapes the next generation of Brazilian pickleball.
On the representation front, Marcela is signed with Nate Shaffer of S² Sports & Entertainment — a clear signal that her reach extends well beyond Brazil's borders and that the international market already has her firmly on the radar.
What's Next
The World Championship on the horizon. More golds to collect at the Brasileirão. The APP Tour waiting to see more of her. And a Latin American pickleball community that is beginning to understand that Brazil has a world-class reference point in Marcela Donatoni.
She makes history. And she's not done making it.
"See you on the courts."
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