As the PPA Asia train steams forward, and while he dust is settling on the recent Japan event, PNA took the time to speak to one of Asia’s very top elite over 50s players. Jih-Shian Yeo from Singapore has been forging his reputation as one of Asia’s elite masters players. Just over a week ago, JS managed to win three golds at the PPA event in Hong Kong, becoming the only triple crown athlete at that event.

We managed to get some time with JS and asked him about that event and some of his other plans,

PNA – Well done on your triple crown at PPA Hong Kong, which of the three golds meant most to you and why?

JS – All of them meant a lot to me, since this was my first triple crown.

PNA – Competing in three categories (never mind winning them all) is tiring enough for people less than half your age, how to you manage to maintain such excellent endurance?

JS – I had two excellent partners, Hian Tee in mens doubles and Pini in mixed doubles. For myself, I try to drill a couple of times a week and play a few times a week, and am thankful for my drilling partners who regularly drill with me. My drilling sessions are usually more tiring than playing sessions and once a week, I drill in the afternoon then play in the evening, which helps me to develop my physical endurance. In competitive pickleball, mental fortitude and focus and are also at least as important as some of the physical aspects. The slightest variance in your touch and position can make the difference between a well-placed dink and a pop up, and focus and ability to react quickly are critical in a firefight. How a player responds mentally when the match is close or he/she is trailing or otherwise under pressure matters, and for this, youth does not necessarily provide an advantage. I’m by nature a generally positive person – I don’t dwell too much on past errors, focus on the current point and what I can do going forward, and try to take every match lost as an opportunity to learn from it and improve.

Most of all since I started competing in pickleball tournaments in 2021, I am grateful to the pickleball community and friends I met in Singapore, the US and all over Asia for encouraging and motivating me to constantly improve my game. I am also thankful for my family support and humbled by all the opportunities given to me. These help with motivating me for the long haul.

PNA – We had not realised your strength as a singles player, what are some of the key strategies you used in HK to get you to gold in this category?

JS – I sometimes skip the singles event in tournaments if the event is before the doubles events, as it can be unfair for my partners if I’m not in my best shape for the doubles events. So I try to make sure I have enough rest between events, as well as before a singles event. The HK tournament came a few weeks after I had already played and won a singles event in Singapore and I made sure to train and practise specifically for singles in the period leading up to HK to build on that momentum.

PNA – We were quite vocal in criticising PPA Asia for bad treatment of players in non pro categories at the first KL event. How was your player experience in HK and do you feel the PPA Asia team is learning and improving?

JS – The venue in HK was an improvement over the first KL event, as there were seats and an area for players to wait. Players were also clearer about when their match was coming up. Of course the air-conditioning makes the venue a lot more comfortable too.

Some things that could be improved, as well as my wish list:

• The dates and timing of events, as well as prize money information for non-19+ pros, could be published earlier, before registration opens, so players can plan their travel and decide in advance which events to play.
• The scheduling of matches could be improved for players by scheduling matches in each event together and finishing them without inserting multiple other events in between. This prevents excessive waiting between matches for the players. It also helps minimize cooling down too much in between matches particularly when matches are typically very short with only one game to 11 points.
• To be more inclusive and include senior pro categories, like PPA does in the US, or at least include prize money for all senior categories, including womens 50+, instead of it varying from tournament to tournament and publishing the information only some days after registration begins.

With each tournament, the PPA tournaments in Asia will continue to improve. I also hope that they will also give more consideration to other players in addition to the 19+ pros (after all, the non-19+ pros will form the bulk of the players), once the Asia team has gained more experience in organizing pickleball tournaments.

PNA – What are your PPA plans (and tournament plans in general) for the rest of the year?

JS – I plan to play the PPA KL Cup, given that will the first PPA Cup in Asia. I also plan to play a few other tournaments, though those are still plans in progress.

PNA – We know you are sponsored by Sypik, we commend them for supporting senior pickleball athletes, how helpful and important is this kind of for you?

JS – Extremely helpful, and I’m immensely grateful to Sypik. Many pickleball players and even athletes from other sports have told me that they found it really inspiring that older folks out there can still be sponsored to compete professionally. The support by Sypik for senior players is impactful and groundbreaking, and augers well for the sports industry.  It makes a difference to the sport that there are sponsors like Sypik which are so inclusive. In addition to the sponsorship, the community and training is very important to me too. For example, Sypik is planning a training trip in Vietnam for their Asia pro team in  October, and I’m looking forward to that.

PNA – Any tips for players (young or old) that want to emulate your tournament success?

JS – Stay positive and calm on the courts no matter how you are doing. Stay grounded and keep looking to improve and drill, drill, drill. Stay calm by not being too emotionally invested in the results, just focus on the current point – it’s not the end of the world if you lose a match, every match lost is an opportunity to learn from it and adjust. Eat well and maintain a healthy but balanced lifestyle. Play with strong players when you can, but also be willing to occasionally play with weaker players when you can, as everyone started as a beginner at some point and there are always shots that you can practise with weaker players. We build each other up.  Remember that there is life too outside of pickleball, and friends are more important than any pickleball match.