By Stephen Hunt
Red Line Editorial
Before first picking up a paddle two years ago, Andre Mercado honestly didn’t know what to think when a family friend who is also a tennis pro suggested he give pickleball a shot.
“I was like OK, fine,” Mercado recalled.
His father, Randall Mercado, who has a tennis background, also prodded him to give pickleball a try.
“My dad asked if I wanted to play. I was like no, not really,” Andre said. “I was playing basketball and said what the heck, I guess I’ll try it. I got through one game and was actually pretty good. We played for a couple hours, and the next day I asked my dad if we could go to the courts again? He was like, sure.”
Though that officially began their pickleball career, it was after the Mercados bought their first paddles and got an unexpected lesson from Riley Palmer, a well-known pickleball player and coach in Arizona known as Smiley Riley, that they really jumped in with both feet.
“We got these wooden paddles from Walmart, went to this park and were playing in the rain. There was nobody else there,” Andre said. “Smiley Riley gave us a mini lesson for 35 to 45 minutes. That really helped us, learning the basics and how to do all the serves and returns.”
Residents of Scottsdale, Arizona, the Mercados have been avid picklers ever since, hitting the courts as often as six times each week.
“The best thing I love about it is that it’s something I can do with my whole family, especially Andre, at a competitive level,” Randall said. “It’s really brought us together.”
Now 14, Andre has already played at Nationals twice. After winning a bronze in junior doubles at his debut in 2022, he won gold in the junior boys’ singles and doubles divisions (age 13-14) at the 2023 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships powered by Invited and the PPA Tour earlier this month at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas.
Mercado and Jack Sahid of Laguna Niguel, California, took the doubles crown by defeating Daniel Phillips and Leo Chun of Utah in the semifinals and final.
In a singles semifinal, Sahid defeated Mercado in three sets. However, Mercado responded by winning his first loser’s bracket match and then defeated his doubles partner twice, 11-4, 11-5 and then 15-9 in a first-to-15 for the gold medal.
Randall couldn’t be prouder of the resiliency Andre displayed at Nationals.
“It’s extremely gratifying (to see him have success),” Randall said. “After being up 10-1, his partner came back and beat him, knocking him to the loser’s bracket.
“For him to have the mental strength and intestinal fortitude to not give up after being up so far, for him to do it on his own — I didn’t give him a pep talk — and for him to be down in that final game to 15, I was overwhelmed with emotion when he won. This is probably one of the best experiences of my life, if not the best.”
When not playing, this father/son duo is likely teaching the game through their club, the Pickleball Players Club of Arizona, which currently has 11 students and 10 adults learning the sport.
“(The club) has a bunch of juniors, and we go to tournaments and cheer each other on,” Andre said. “I had all my friends there (at Nationals) to cheer me on, and their parents and my dad and grandma (Shirley, who attends every tournament) there. It’s really nice, because if I ever make a mistake, I can look over to them and they’re like it’s OK, you’ve got this, you’re still in this.”
Not only does Randall take great joy from seeing Andre perform so well, but this talented duo also plays together as a doubles team, which is another great dynamic for these avid picklers.
“Andre’s a very smart kid and when I explain things to him, he gets it,” Randall said. “Me being there on the court with him I feel has been the most amazing way for me to teach him. Because what better time to have a discussion about something? I can’t coach him from the sidelines unless it’s a timeout. It’s such a blessing.”
Randall also likes the fact that playing pickleball has helped Andre overcome his shyness and make plenty of new friends.
“I like how all ages can play it,” he said. “It’s easy to play and hard to master, which is a really fun aspect of it.
“Also, it’s a pretty new sport, so all of us get to have a great impact on the rise of the sport and the outcome of it.”
Stephen Hunt is an accomplished freelance writer and sports statistician who has been blessed to cover a multitude of subjects and sports in his time. He is a freelance contributor to USA Pickleball on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.