Hannah Johns on the Johns family and the PPA's scrappy early days
On Pickleballers, Ben Johns's sister and PPA employee No. 4 retells the origin story — homeschooling on 12 acres, a freakishly coordinated kid brother, and the Franklin deal that made it real.
Pro pickleball didn't happen by accident — and few people saw more of the scramble than Hannah Johns. ▶ The Kitchen ↗ On the latest Pickleballers, Ben Johns's sister retold the origin story: growing up one of seven homeschooled kids on 12 acres, a kid brother with "freakish hand-eye coordination before he could even talk much," and the first major Franklin sponsorship that signaled this might be real.
She also copped to the unglamorous grind of being PPA Employee No. 4 — booking player housing, fielding skepticism that tickets would never sell, and (yes) one pro relieving himself in a host's garden.
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Pickleballers Season 4, Episode 3: Hannah Johns on growing the PPA Tour and pro pickleball's early days
The Kitchen
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