Tyson McGuffin is one of the top-ranked pickleball players in the world, and at 31 years of age, he is one of the youngest and most accomplished pickleball players the game has ever seen. He has been a 5x Grand Slam Champion and a 4x National Champion, even at this young age. 

McGuffin did not grow up playing professional pickleball, but he came from a family that is passionate about sports. This passion for competition led him along a path that eventually included Tennis and then later pickleball. Athletes who move into sports like pickleball later in life are not usually this talented and McGuffin stands almost entirely alone in this distinction.

Tyson McGuffin is a Former Tennis Star

Tyson McGuffin played tennis in college and was quite good. He was approved to teach tennis after making it a big part of his life for many years during and after college for his tennis club. However, he says that the sport is difficult to teach. He has stated that the skills related to playing tennis are complex and that it can be hard to develop them without causing injury and other problems.

Pickleball is much easier to teach and much easier on your body. This makes it a sport on the rise with those who formerly played tennis at various levels. McGuffin took full advantage of this opportunity and was ranked within his first three matches. All of the skills he knew from tennis were very useful in pickleball without all of the struggle and stress that goes into a grueling tennis match.

While McGuffin’s success with the sport after just a few practice sessions is likely not one that most people would enjoy, people familiar with tennis will be able to pick up pickleball readily. Tyson McGuffin was able to play a few practice rounds of the game and then take gold at the Coeur D’alene Classic. Sports stars often experience instant success like this when they land in the right sport.

McGuffin protests that describing pickleball as ping pong on steroids is not a flattering way to promote the sport. He would rather people think of pickleball as a small court tennis game with more emphasis on the net play. He has also said that pickleball skills are very easy to teach, making this game very enjoyable for people of all levels. This is his goal when teaching as he wants people of all ages to have fun with his sport and learn to play it correctly.

Achievements 

Tyson McGuffin has won many prestigious tournaments throughout his career, including many US Open Championships in Men’s Singles Open, Mixed Doubles Age 30 +, and Men’s Double Age 30+. He has also played internationally, winning the Men’s Singles Open at the International Indoor Pickleball Championships in 2019. He recently played at and won The Lakes Spring Fling and the Hawaii Open as well.

As of 2020, before changes to the pickleball playing reality due to the pandemic, he was ranked #2 in the world in Mixed Singles, #5 in Men’s Doubles, and #4 in Mixed Doubles. He played the Hawaii open, the PPA Mesa, and the Florida Grand Slam in 2020 before pickleball games were put on hold to see what would happen with the pandemic.

Tyson McGuffin Net Worth

Pickleball players make about $50k to $200k a year. Sponsorships, coaching, backing from companies, and more can add to this number. This means that most sports stars will have a variable income based on many different sources that can change and shift from year to year.

Tyson has been backed by Selkirk Sport for a few years now, and they have designed the Ty McGuffin Signature Series Paddle that is inspired by his play style. These kinds of gear items also generate income for sports stars that can really add up over the course of a year. The net worth of all sports figures can be impacted by how much they play, the purse sizes of the tournaments that they decide to attend, and the overall sponsorship package that they are offered each year.

Tyson McGuffin’s Preferred Gear

McGuffin uses gear from his sponsor, Selkirk Sports. All of his gear, including his pickleballs, are sourced from the catalog at Selkirk, which is a good testimonial for their products. They have made a paddle that is based on the play style that he often uses, which is the aforementioned Ty McGuffin Signature Series Paddle. He also sometimes plays with their Selkirk Amped Invita Paddle. 

Tyson McGuffin's Pickleball Paddle

 No one seems to know what his favorite shoes are, but he likely wears gear that has been sourced from his sponsor as well. The company makes a complete lineup of pickleball necessities and McGuffin appears to use them all when he is playing professionally. He has also stated that he uses a Tourna grip on his paddles, just like he has since he first started playing. He also uses this brand’s pickleball nets when he is working on his skills at home. 

The Personal Life of Tyson McGuffin

McGuffin grew up in Washington and he wrestled throughout high school and college but he also played tennis starting at age 14. He has stated many times that the switch to pickleball was a bit of an accident because he was working on developing his tennis skills through coaching when a student of his introduced him to pickleball. The rest, as they say, is history!

McGuffin is married to Megan McGuffin, and they have three children. Their son Skyler is 13 and is special needs, their younger son Ty is six, and their youngest is a daughter who is one. The family resides in Coeur D’Alene where McGuffin also teaches camps for pickleball skills. He also teaches all over the world when he is not playing in tournaments and enjoys giving back to the sports community in this way. 

You can keep up with Tyson McGuffin and his family on his Instagram or through Facebook. He and his wife also maintain a really nice YouTube channel that offers a blend of personal life updates and family talk and pickleball-centered content. This is a great place to listen to his insights about coaching tips and gameplay as well as his thoughts about his family life. 

McGuffin regularly posts updates about his coaching, things that are going on with his family, and personal achievements on these sources. He is a very personable and fun sports star who is surprisingly transparent about his feelings and what he is doing each day. He is also a huge advocate for special needs sports and equal rights, which is no surprise due to having a special needs child in his family.

Tyson McGuffin is a Notable Athlete

Few sports stars offer so much free coaching and so much outreach to fans. Tyson McGuffin has made teaching a central part of his career, and this is probably partially because of his early sports career where he taught and played tennis. He knows how to guide form, skills, and other necessary items like drills. You can learn a lot by visiting his YouTube channel and if you have never played pickleball, you will be inspired to head out and get a paddle and start playing!