Super DUPR Girl Interview

Meet 13-year-old pickleball sensation Aline Morales

In today’s Bite Size Pickleball newsletter:

A video interview with 5.1 DUPR rated player Aline Morales and her father Victor. Aline is 13-years-old and featured in Pickleball Magazine this month, a story written by yours truly. Aline is from the city of Zihuatanejo, Mexico and I met her when she played in a recent tournament in Santa Barbara where she won gold in both the women’s and the mixed 5.0 divisions.

Follow along with Aline’s career on Instagram @aline.morales.2010 FYI: If you don’t see a thumbnail image below here, hit the play button to watch video interview.

NOTE: See my version of the Pickleball Magazine story below.

SUPER DUPR GIRL (unedited)

Listen to this article instead of reading

If someone told you their Dupr rating was 5.1, chances are, you’d be pretty impressed. You’d be even more impressed if the person who told you was only thirteen.

Meet Aline Morales from Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Weighing in at a whopping 94 pounds, and standing 5’2”, and as evidenced by the way I saw her sweep through a recent tournament in Santa Barbara, I am convinced she is going to take pickleball by storm in the next few years.

Initially, when everyone saw her, pre-match, they were like, “Who’s that little girl? Is she someone’s daughter?” Okay, I was definitely thinking that! But by the end of her first day of action, the overall chatter turned to, “Oh my god, did you see that little girl play?”

That “little girl” won the women’s 5.0 division with her 50-year-old partner Wendy Ochoa from San Diego. The two have won gold in five out of the six tournaments they’ve played in together.

“Aline’s strengths as a partner are truly remarkable,” said Ochoa. “Her maturity on the court is beyond her years.”

The first thing I noticed about that maturity was Morales’ grace under fire. She simply was more relaxed than her much older opponents.

“She has a calming influence on me!” Ochoa remarked. “Which is quite funny considering her age.”

When I asked Morales’ father Victor where that sense of calm came from, he shrugged his shoulders, and replied, “Her mother?”

His response was “questioning,” because that’s how she makes you feel, like you’re witnessing something truly mysterious. And, quite often, this kind of rare talent can’t just be explained away, it can only be witnessed in awe.

Morales has about the softest hands I’ve ever seen. When I played with her, the day after the tournament, I would say she was at about 90% on her drops, dinks, and resets.

“I’ve never seen anyone with her level of precision in those aspects of the game,” said Ochoa.

But Morales also has the ability to fire on you in a millisecond. As I stepped onto the court with her, I was thinking, “Look how young and small she is, I can’t attack her!” It didn’t take long until I was playing for my life.

Not to boast, but I did hold my own—on a couple of points! But by the time she turns fourteen, I am a goner. We had one fierce firefight and, after it ended, Ochoa asked Morales to please not come at her like that. Be afraid, pickleball world. Be very afraid.

I should mention Morales favorite player is none other than Anna Leigh Waters, and I will not be surprised to see the two going head-to-head in a few years. Note to Anna Leigh: If you’re looking for a lefty partner…

How did Morales get so good?

“I watched a lot of YouTube videos,” she told me. “I try to learn from all the players, not just one.” Even though the aforementioned Waters is her favorite. And don’t worry Ben, you came in second!

Ochoa also mentioned that Morales’ hometown gets a lot of visitors from Canada, in their cold season, and many are solid players who have contributed to Morales’ learning process. And, no, she doesn’t come from a tennis background. She is a born natural.

Sadly, a natural with no peers to play with. When I asked why, she pantomimed someone texting, and said: “They’re on their phone.” I then sprung a pop quiz on her: What is more addictive, a phone or pickleball? There was zero hesitation: “Pickleball!”

FYI: Morales is 100% determined to be a professional one day.

On Day Two, it was on to the mixed doubles. Her partner, 46-year-old, Jason Saltoun-Ebin is a friend of mine and I saw him in the morning, before the matches began. He was more than a little anxious.

“The fact she went undefeated, and took gold, in the women’s really set in on me: She wasn’t there to just play, she was there to win.”

When I asked him what his first impressions were, before seeing her play, he said, “I figured since she was coming from Mexico, there was a chance she was going to be pretty good. But I also knew it could be a disaster.”

The two ended up playing  together because both signed up for the mixed event as “needing a partner.” Saltoun-Ebin reached out to Morales, and one other woman, and decided he would go with whomever responded first. Morales’ father was the first to respond.

In game one, Saltoun-Ebin came out with a case of the jitters. “We were down by a bunch, and my heart rate shot way up, and thoughts of not playing well crept in. She must have sensed something, because she called a timeout and suggested we try reverse stacking.”

Saltoun-Ebin is a righty, Morales a lefty, so that put their backhands in the middle. They fought their way back to win the game 11-9, and then triumphed 11-0 in the second game.

“For most of the rest of the tourney we stayed on our forehand sides, but every time we got into a little trouble, she would call a timeout and mix things up. Each time, it shifted the momentum back to us.”

I want to emphasize who took the leadership role in deciding when to call timeouts.

“Without a doubt, she is the best female partner I have ever played with. Literally, nothing rattled her. But what really impressed me was her understanding of the game, and her fearlessness to do what needed to be done,” said Saltoun-Ebin.

The two went undefeated in the round robin portion of the event and the gold-medal contest was a rematch against one of Santa Barbara’s strongest players, Andy Silverstein, and his partner Natalie Collins. Saltoun-Ebin told me he and Morales started out trying to keep the ball away from the 5.5 rated Silverstein.

“Being the great player he is, he found a way to start picking off our shots. And it was clear our strategy wasn’t going to work. Aline called a timeout and told me she was going to go at him. I thought to myself, I can’t wait to see how this turns out!”

Unfortunately, Silverstein went down with a calf injury in game two and he was unable to continue. Final score 9-11, 7-7, and 11-0 in the 3^rd game because the match was halted. Two days, two 5.0 golds. Who cares about the asterisk? This is a 13-year-old girl we’re talking about.

“I’ve played enough pickleball to learn to never judge a book by its cover. Old, young, fit, out of shape, good pickleball players come in all shapes and sizes,” said Silverstein. “I will say that most younger folks I have played with don’t have the patience, and comfort, on the court that I saw from Aline.”

So, the big question is: What’s next?

“We’re looking for a sponsor,” her father told me.

I suggested he get his daughter to as many tournaments as possible, and word would spread fast, and things would progress naturally, just like they did in Santa Barbara. However, obviously, the family’s handicap is finding the resources to get Morales to as many tourneys in the States as possible.

In the meantime, I asked Morales what she needed to work on.

 “Maybe my overheads,” she said, suggesting she couldn’t wait until she grew a few more inches.

Mainly, so players like me can’t lob on her. When I did so, after receiving the intel from Morales, Ochoa chided her, “Don’t give away your secrets!”

But the big secret is out. Aline Morales is going to be a contender. It’s just a matter of time.

Rick Cipes is the writer of the book How to Play Better Pickleball available at Amazon