USAPA Junior
SPOTLIGHT
WILLIAM
SOBEK
By Bob Nibarger
USAPA JUNIORS COMMITTEE CHAIR
At age 15, William Sobek is the youngest
male pro player and #1 Junior in the world.
William started playing pickleball at 4 years
old, before most of us had even heard of
it! William lives in Key West, FL, with his parents, Rosti
and Petra Sobek, who moved to Florida from the Czech
Republic in 1995.
At 5 years old, William played his first tournament!
He played men’s doubles with his father and they won
the Key West tournament. During the summer of 2015,
he and his parents traveled to Ontario, Canada, for
Nationals where, at age 10, he won his first Junior Singles
title—beating a 15-year-old player in the finals!
William has had many great accomplishments and
attributes a lot of his success to his father’s coaching and
dedication. William is a gold medalist in the US Open, US
Nationals, Tournament of Champions, and in many local
and regional tournaments. He has won titles in England,
Spain, Italy, Germany, and Canada. One day, he would
like to represent the USA in the Olympics and become the
best player in the world.
The most memorable tournament William participated
in was the 2019 US Open Championships where he won
the Men’s Doubles 5.0 19+ title with Rosti, and the Mixed
Doubles 5.0 19+ title with Anna Leigh Waters.
Now that he’s 15, William will devote his tournament
play purely to the pro division. He’s looking forward
to playing with and against some of the best players in
pickleball.
When playing, William has incredible
speed and moves seamlessly around
the court. He has very aggressive
groundstrokes but also has patience to
dink and wait for the right moment to
attack. His favorite shot is a two-handed backhand. Of
course when he first started playing, his hands were too
small for one to hold the paddle securely for a backhand.
However, he still loves to use a two-handed shot because
he feels it gives him more power and accuracy. While
William has a great game, he’s looking forward to
learning more shots and improving his skill set.
When William is not on the court playing in
tournaments, he runs clinics and teaches lessons at
his father’s internationally renowned Sobek Pickleball
Academy. In addition to their work at the academy,
William and his father also enjoy traveling nationally and
internationally to give clinics and play in tournaments.
William is very active in the pickleball community and
assists with the organization of tournaments in Key West.
He proudly represents Paddletek.
Outside of pickleball, William is well-rounded and
grounded. He’s a sophomore at Key West High School
where he excels, earning straight A’s in his honors and
AP classes. He’s interested in astrology, biology, traveling,
space and marine exploration. William is shooting for a
career in the medical field, perhaps as a medical scientist
or doctor. Additionally, although pickleball is his primary
sport, he enjoys soccer and tennis.
It’s a combination of academic focus and competition
that has vaulted William to meteoric success as a young
athlete and ultimately helping to define the future of
pickleball with an impressive scorecard. William Sobek
is the future of pickleball and a name that will
resonate in the sport’s competitive arena for
many years to come. •
STORY ASSISTED BY LUCY KITCHER.
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