In this episode of the Pickleballers podcast, we sit down with Dekel Bar, one of the best pickleball players in the world, with over 30 PPA medals to his name. Dekel shares his journey growing up in Israel, battling through the brutal grind of professional tennis, and eventually finding pickleball through his close ties with the Johns family. We dive into his struggles with injuries, his rise on the pickleball tour, what it’s like to have one of the most feared serves in the game, and his thoughts on paddle technology, PPA vs MLP, and the future of pro pickleball. Along the way, Dekel ranks his top five players in the world, shares war-ready teammate picks from the PPA tour, and clears up some hilarious internet rumors about his “girlfriends.”

(0:00) Intro and Dekel’s background
(2:24) Growing up in Israel and choosing tennis
(5:02) The grind of professional tennis
(8:27) Injuries and mental toll of tennis
(10:20) Finding pickleball through the Johns family
(14:46) First tournaments and early results
(16:30) Breakthrough with Adam Stone
(19:00) Balancing school and pickleball
(20:50) Developing one of the biggest serves on tour
(24:00) Paddle technology and evolution of the game
(26:48) How much power is too much?
(28:31) Ranking the top five male players
(30:35) Ranking the top women players
(31:09) Inside the Johns family circle
(33:00) Record vs the Johns brothers
(34:10) Long-term goals and resurgence
(36:23) PPA vs MLP and the future of pro pickleball
(38:14) MLP formats and home crowd concept
(40:47) What a 4.0 needs to reach 4.5
(42:24) Serving in the Israeli army — who makes the best soldiers?
(44:40) Funniest pickleball story and girlfriend rumors
(46:41) Closing thoughts and outro