Callie Smith started her answer with a definitive explanation.
“Let me begin by saying, ‘I love Lucy,’” Smith said of her partner Lucy Kovalova. “I look forward to getting on the court and competing with her. She makes me laugh. She’s got killer counter-attacks and skills, and we have a good time together on the court. Win or lose, I have loved competing with her by my side, and feel confident with her as my partner.”
When it comes to pickleball there’s no one who represents friendship more than longtime partners Smith and Kovalova, so on National Best Friends Day, June 8, it only makes sense to highlight what it means to be friends on the court.
“I think, at least for me, it’s very helpful to get along with your partner off the court as well,” Kovalova said. I love to develop true friendships because it’s always more fun to compete with your friend.”
Kovalova is one of the few in the game who has been able to fuse friends and forehands. She and her mixed doubles partner Matt Wright are partners off the court, too. And Kovalova and Smith have been teammates for years. In the pickleball world, that’s truly a rarity.
Being best friends isn’t a must, but it helps. Winning is easier, life is easier, and all things pickleball are easier when the person next to you is someone you want next to you.
“I could only play with someone I respect,” said PPA player Patrick Smith. “That’s the main factor for me. We all play to win. Winning is always sweeter if you get along with your partner.”
And just like anything else, it takes time and effort to get along with a partner. Chemistry on the court is probably the biggest determining factor in wins or losses.
“Chemistry is a huge part of a team’s success,” said PPA Tour player Thomas Wilson. “When you have chemistry you are more in sync with who takes middle balls, covering for each other, picking your partner up when they’re down. Pickleball is a mental chess match, and if you aren’t in it together, it will be an uphill battle.”
Which makes what Smith and Kovalova have so special and what makes what they have something everyone else wants. The wins will come when the team comes together.
“I love that I can get along with my partner off the court because it makes everything that happens on the court that much easier,” Smith said. “Winning is great, but I’d rather win while having a good time with the person next to me.”
Teams form and split up. There’s Major League Pickleball, which sometimes creates dynamics that aren’t planned for but can also make for great games and add to the drama. But can you win consistently and for an extended period of time if the person holding the paddle next to you is someone you don’t like?
“People want different things out of pickleball, based on their personal circumstances,” Wilson said. “For me, enjoying it is the top priority. Sacrificing that for a few more wins does not interest me. I want to be all smiles out there.”
However, the PPA is a professional league. Everyone obviously plays to win and winning pays. Real dollars.
“I think it is more important for gender doubles to be friends,” Kovalova said. “In mixed, the guy is going to take over and that’s it. No hard feelings. But in women’s doubles, women tend to play better when they have a friend by their side, versus a person that they can stand.”
Winning definitely cures all, but on National Best Friends Day, winning isn’t the most important thing.
“If I’m not getting along with my partner on the court, I don’t think we’ll be winning,” Wilson said. “I’m an emotional guy. Hey, why can’t we just be friends?”
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