HAYDEN, Idaho -- Did you know one of the world's best pickleball players lives right here in the Inland Northwest?
His name is Tyson McGuffin. He is the top ranked singles player in the world. He is hoping to take the sport from backyards and country clubs to a much wider audience.
McGuffin train at the North Park Athletic Club in Spokane. If you thought Pickleball was just a backyard pastime, you are wrong.
"It's not your grandma's and grandpa's game. That's for sure," McGuffin said.
McGuffin, a former tennis club pro in central Washington, found that he was really, good at the sport that is part tennis, part ping pong and part badminton.
He now lives in Hayden, has only been playing for three years. Already, he has won a national championship in the game's highest competition.
"It was a surreal feeling," he said.
McGuffin's sponsored by Selkirk Sports, also based in Hayden. Their high-end pickleball paddle has McGuffin's name on it. They said he is the number one ranked player in the world. When he is not competing across the country, he is teaching classes around town.
"For the family aspect and how easy it is to play. And how anybody can pick it up," he said.
No matter how funky the sport's name may sound, the laid back nature of the game is not sour at all.
"You could beat enemies on the court then go have beers afterward. It was very different from tennis," he said.