In this episode, Hannah sits down with Roscoe and Jared to trace her path from elite junior and college squash to professional pickleball, and how she became one of the first players in the sport to build a following around her personal brand rather than just her results on the court.
Hannah breaks down her rise through junior and college squash at Drexel, including a brutal sophomore season playing the number one spot where she lost nearly every match, and how that experience shaped her decision to eventually walk away from the sport and throw herself into pickleball instead.
Hannah also opens up about becoming one of pickleball's first influencers before it was common, how a mixed doubles partnership with Grayson Goldin turned into an engagement, and her goals to crack the top 20 in all three divisions and eventually go pro at the highest level.
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Timestamps:
1:13 — Meet Hannah Blatt
2:16 — Moving to Florida for squash
9:05 — What squash actually is
13:21 — Ivy League recruiting and Drexel
14:56 — Losing almost every match at #1
22:08 — Turning Pro in a Sport With No Money
26:23 — First time playing pickleball
27:37 — Building a following, going all in
33:38 — Becoming pickleball's first influencer
38:50 — The road to going pro in pickleball
44:03 — Cracking Top 22 in the World
46:16 — A Mixed Doubles Partner Becomes a Fiancé
51:02 — The Top 20 Goal and an Olympic Dream
52:26 — The Squash Backhand That Carries Over to Pickleball