The Sacramento Vintage Open pays homage to the origins of pickleball, with pro and amateur players swapping their regular paddles for wooden ones.
Pro players will return to pickleball’s roots starting Wednesday, September 24, competing with wooden paddles on an even playing field for ranking points and prize money. Despite some noticeable absences, including Catherine Parenteau and Rachel Rohrabacher, Team Selkirk’s Jack Sock, Marshall Brown, and Lauren Stratman will be competing. Newcomer Kiora Kunimoto will also make her debut as a Selkirk athlete.
Jack Sock on the hunt for gold
Sock has been a force in singles, boasting some of the best and fastest serves and forehands on the tour. While he normally plays with the Boomstik paddle, he’s switching things up and looking to deliver an electric performance with the vintage gear. Entering the tournament as the No. 5 seed, Sock will face Wesley Burrows first, before aiming to set up a clash with fellow Selkirk pro Marshall Brown.
Marshall Brown looks to build on momentum
Despite feeling slightly under the weather at the last PPA event in Cincinnati, Marshall Brown pulled off several impressive wins to reach the quarterfinals. As the No. 28 seed, Brown breezed past Ryan Sherry, 11-4, 11-5, before taking down No. 7 Michael Loyd and No. 10 Tyson McGuffin in three games. He now looks to carry his singles success into Sacramento, where he will face Wyatt Stone in the round of 32.
Rising talent Kiora Kunimoto
Seventeen-year-old Kiora Kunimoto is new to the tour but brings both potential and a strong tennis background as the reigning Hawai‘i state high school singles champion. Most recently, she battled her way through the Cincinnati qualifiers, earning the top finish in those rounds to advance to the main draw. Kunimoto then faced Jorja Johnson, putting up a fight before falling 7–11, 4–11.
Kunimoto will be one to watch as she steps into the pro pickleball world. She opens her Sacramento campaign against tour veteran Mari Humberg.
Serving style in Sacramento
The Essentials line is one of the go-to collections for our top pros. Catch Team Selkirk representing in some vintage-inspired colors and styles in Sacramento!
