How did a comedian, actress, and author with “no eye-hand coordination” end up writing two pickleball romantic comedies and falling in love with the game?

In this episode, Ilana Long shares her funny, fearless, and deeply relatable journey into comedy, storytelling, and pickleball. From writing humor pieces as a student to performing improv at Second City, doing stand-up, sketch comedy, and acting, Ilana has always found her voice through laughter. She talks about the challenges of being a woman in comedy, learning to create her own opportunities, and how persistence eventually led to publishing her pickleball romantic comedy Pickleballers and her upcoming novel Pickle Perfect. 

Ilana also shares how she first discovered pickleball through a friend who described it as “ping pong but standing on the table,” and why the sport immediately hooked her despite not seeing herself as an athlete. She reflects on the joy of the pickleball community, the quirky characters who inspired her fiction, and how the game opened her life to new friendships, new confidence, and a whole new creative path. 

Along the way, Ilana talks about writing later in life, trying new things after 50, finding humor in heartbreak, and the life lessons pickleball continues to teach her about openness, perseverance, bad habits, second chances, and letting yourself begin again. This is a warm, witty, and inspiring conversation about pickleball, comedy, romantic comedy, Pickleballers, Pickle Perfect, creativity, women in comedy, friendship, reinvention, and the life lessons that remind us it is never too late to start something new. 

Website: IlanaLong.com

Insta: @IlanaLongWrites

📘 Our book Life Lessons from Pickleball™ is now available on Amazon

Order the book here: https://a.co/d/0bHPFYve

A collection of short, true stories from players around the world about community, resilience, and joy through the game of pickleball.

A portion of proceeds supports Operation PaddleLift, through the Global Pickleball Federation, distributing paddles, balls and nets to underserved communities around the world.

Contact us:  [email protected]

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Music gifted to us by Ian Pedersen: @ianpedersen 

Thanks for listening and you can also watch us on Youtube.