What do you get when you have the best players in spikeball , pickleball and volleyball come together to show off their talents in their respective sports ?
A “ Pro vs . Pro ” video series with topranked pickleball players Ben Johns and Kyle Yates playing pickleball and spikeball ( a . k . a . roundnet ) against Preston Bies , pro roundnet player , and Casey Patterson , pro beach volleyball player .
The video series on Preston Bies ’ YouTube channel called “ How to Roundnet ” all started with Preston taking a break from spikeball to do a 50-day pickleball binge where he trained two hours a day .
Preston , 27 , of Santa Barbara , California , got stoked about pickleball and wanted to play against the best . So he did a Google search for “ best pickleball player in the world ” and found none other than Ben Johns ’ name pop up . He figured , why not message Ben on Instagram and ask if he wants to come out to California to do a pro vs . pro video series to play spikeball and pickleball , and to bring a friend with him .
So that ’ s exactly what happened . Ben called Kyle Yates and asked if he was up for the challenge , so both of them flew to California to learn how to play spikeball and show Preston and Casey how to excel in the game of pickleball .
“ Ben and I are always up to try something new , so when we are invited to play with the world ’ s best at anything , of course we ’ re going to say yes !” says Kyle . “ My favorite part about the Pro vs . Pro competition was seeing just how amazing these other pros are at
Ben Johns and Kyle Yates playing roundnet with Preston Bies and Jarratt Rouse ( Preston and Jarratt are roundnet pros ).
Ben Johns and Kyle Yates playing pickleball with roundnet pros Jarratt Rouse and Ryder Rivadeneyra . their respective sports . I was in awe of some of the shots Preston was able to hit in roundnet — and it was pretty fun to show off a bit and feel comfortable on the pickleball court !”
Not only did these incredible athletes excel at each other ’ s respective sports , they had some fun along the way — including Ben using a slipper as a pickleball paddle to see if he could still win against the spikeball pros in a match . Spoiler alert : Ben won .
“ For playing pickleball just three months , Preston is pretty good ,” says Ben . When asked if he was going to try to play roundnet again in his free time , he replied , “ Free time is a word I don ’ t use a lot these days ! But if I get the chance , I ’ ll absolutely play again .”
According to Chris Ruder , Founder and CEO of Spikeball , Inc .— with approximately 4 million spikeball units sold — there are about 10-20 million people who have played roundnet .
Another spikeball pro competitor , Chris Hornacek , who recently hit the courts with Tyson Aposotol for an intense singles match , is also a pickleball pro-in-themaking , which proves there are many parallels between the two sports .
“ I announced on Instagram that I was playing pickleball and suddenly a ton of spikeball players were sending me direct messages saying , ‘ Yeah , I play !’ and telling me where I should travel to play pickleball ,” says Chris . “ Everyone points you in the right direction on how to improve your game .”
With millions of passionate players for a backyard game that complements pickleball nicely , we look forward to this network of athletes continuing to join us on the courts and work their way to the top of the pro circuit . See you in November at the 2021 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships !
To view the Pro vs . Pro video by Preston Bies and to see exclusive pictures , visit
USAPickleball . org and @ USAPickleball on Instagram . •
MAY / JUNE 2021 | MAGAZINE 57