Bradenton teen is taking pro pickleball world by storm. Meet John Lucian Goins
On a sun-splashed late August morning, John Lucian Goins hits groundstroke after groundstroke along the baseline of a pickleball court at Sarasota’s private Laurel Oak Country Club.
The teenager’s connections are solid, displaying the consistency that recently made waves on the Carvana Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour.
Goins, a 17-year-old Bradenton resident, recently captured his first singles title at the Veolia Bristol Open in Tennessee.
“I didn’t go in with any expectations,” said Goins. “I was just trying to, honestly, play my best and see how it would go.”
Not long ago, Goins attended Bradenton’s Inspiration Academy to pursue tennis before he gravitated to pickleball — the fastest growing sport in America, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
Goins used to practice with his tennis coach Dusty Boyer at G.T. Bray Park, where there are covered pickleball courts.
“You just pick it up once and don’t put it back down again,” said Goins, a Florida Virtual School student.
Taking down pickleball’s GOAT
Five months before the Bristol tournament, Goins played a PPA Tour event in Cape Coral. Playing singles, Goins took the bronze medal, but it was what happened in the quarterfinals that put him on everyone’s radar.
Goins faced former world No. 1 Ben Johns, who is often cited as the greatest player of all time. And after dropping the first game, Goins rallied to win the next two to pull off an upset that catapulted his career.
“After that tournament, I signed with the PPA and so now I’m exclusively PPA,” Goins said.
Another pivotal moment in Goins’ ascendency was in November 2024 at the PPA Tour’s Lapiplatsy Pickleball World Championships in Dallas. Goins knocked off Pablo Tellez, who was a top-10 ranked player at the time, in the Round of 64.
“John just came on the court, remained composed and really took him to town and beat him in two games,” said Nate Shaffer, Goins’ agent at S² Sports & Entertainment. “And I said, ‘Look, you’re at the level now to where you have the capability of competing against some of the world’s best.”
Sponsorship and favorite shots
By January, Goins’ success yielded a sponsorship with Joola, a pickleball company that makes paddles, apparel and more. Ben Johns is also signed with Joola.
In the Bristol tournament, Goins defeated Gabriel Joseph, 13-11, 9-11, 11-2, to win the tournament as a 19-seed. He also beat world No. 3 Connor Garnett in the Round of 16 and Christian Alshon in the semifinals.
“I’m very proud of him,” Goins’ mom Julia said. “He worked a lot and he deserves where he’s at. There’s no doubt about it.”
Goins describes his singles game as more of a baseline style with passing shots, but noted his favorite shot is the backhand cross-court roll.
“That’s my favorite shot (from the baseline),” Goins said. “My passing shot as a kind of like a drop that angles off the court sharply.”
Besides his tennis background, Goins’ pickleball skills can be traced to a different game of strategy: chess. Goins boasts a 2400 chess rating, which puts him just below the 2500 required to be a high-level Grandmaster.
“When he plays chess, he really studies pieces and moves … and that’s the same that he applies on the court,” Shaffer said.
What’s next?
Goins is slated to play the PPA’s Walgreens Open at the Las Vegas Strip starting Wednesday.
Next year, Goins will play Major League Pickleball, which features team-format events. The SoCal Hard8s team signed Goins in June.
“I’m excited for (MLP) because I think it’s going to be fun, especially the crowd and the atmosphere with them seems really cool,” Goins said. “It’s all electric and energetic.”
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 5:50 AM.
