Lina Padegimaite

Lina Padegimaite is a professional pickleball player originally from Lithuania who has become one of the most compelling crossover stories in the sport. A former standout at the University of Texas where she earned 2012 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year honors and was a three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete, Lina discovered pickleball in the most unlikely way: her table tennis club closed during COVID while she was pregnant, and a friend dragged her to a rec center. Two months after her son was born, she started training seriously. By 2021, she'd won gold in 5.0 singles at USA Pickleball Nationals.

Now competing full-time on the PPA Tour and in Major League Pickleball with the California Black Bears, Lina has collected 7 pro medals and reached multiple semifinals, including a 4th-place finish at the PPA Selkirk Red Rock Open. She also holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Texas State University and is a certified pickleball instructor who offers clinics, coaching, and even corporate team-building events and birthday parties. On top of all that, she's working to grow pickleball in her native Lithuania through the country's new pickleball federation. Talk about wearing multiple hats.