Less than two months ago, Jaume Martinez Vich joked about how he was a nobody.
“I’m just a Spanish boy living in Hawaii, playing pickleball and making it to Championship Sunday,” he said back in June at the Texas Open.
That was then.
Martinez Vich is a bit more of a name now. That’s kind of what happens when you earn a medal in three tournaments in four outings, including Thursday’s run at the Beer City Open where he got past familiar foe Jay Devilliers in the semifinals before falling to Connor Garnett in the final, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6.
“I do still feel like a nobody,” he admitted Thursday in Grand Rapids, Mich. “As far as being a pro, I don’t get any of the benefits at all. I have to figure it all out on my own as well as pay all the fees and the registrations. I can say, it’s not sustainable even if you medal every other week.”
Hard to imagine that won’t change in the near future for Martinez Vich. People are going to take notice. He finished second to Ben Johns at the Texas Open, earned bronze in Denver last weekend and now adds a silver showing to Garnett here at the Beer City.
“I decided to commit to pickleball and not play tennis in between events,” he said. “I wanted to see if I have the potential and here I am now. Winning a gold or silver means I want more. I’m not satisfied. I have plenty of potential in pickleball and marketing. I am here to stay.”
And while Martinez Vich says he’s not getting a lot of support from sponsors and the like, he is relatively new to the sport. A former tennis hitting partner for Rafael Nadal in Spain, Martinez Vich was essentially just adjacent to the pickleball world. He lived in Hawaii teaching tennis, so it wasn’t like he was on anyone’s pickleball radar.
Meanwhile, Garnett is on a bit of a run himself. While the win here at Beer City doesn’t count as a PPA win, it is a first gold for him. He has two runner-up finishes in the past four events on the PPA Tour.
But back to Martinez Vich and his ascension.
“I am constantly paddling against the current, so hopefully I get to entertain crowds much longer and actually get treated like other pros,” he said. “The best part of my journey is meeting the fans and the kids who want to be like me. I am the Peoples’ Player and as long as I have them my game will be on point.”
On the women’s side, Jorja Johnson won gold – her first as a pro in singles and her second singles medal as a pro – with a victory over Tyra Black. Black earned her first medal as a pro. Irina Tereschenko took bronze.
Dylan Frazier earned bronze on the men’s side.
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