Ben Johns is widely recognized as the greatest pickleball player ever to grace the court. Since 2020, he has consistently held the coveted #1 ranking across all three professional pickleball divisions. His reign is highlighted by an astounding 108-match winning streak in singles competition and a staggering 123 Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) titles (gold medals) as of the Red Rock Open 2024. Adding to his legendary status, Ben Johns boasts 21 Triple Crowns – a feat unmatched by any other male player in the history of professional pickleball. In fact, only Tyson McGuffin with a single Triple Crown comes close to this record. Further showcasing his versatility and dominance, Ben Johns, alongside Anna Leigh Waters, achieved an unprecedented 16 consecutive doubles titles, a partnership that dominated the sport from March 2023 to February 2024. By the Red Rock Open 2024, Ben Johns had participated in 59 PPA tournaments, remarkably securing a medal in each one.
As of the Red Rock Open 2024, Ben Johns’s comprehensive list of achievements includes:
- 36 singles titles, cementing his supremacy in the solo game.
- 41 doubles titles, broken down as 31 with Collin Johns, 8 with Matt Wright, 1 with Joachim Devilliers, and 1 with Dylan Bar, demonstrating his ability to excel with various partners.
- 46 mixed doubles titles, including 31 with Anna Leigh Waters, 12 with Simone Jardim, 1 with Jessie Irvine, and 2 with Etta Wright, illustrating his exceptional mixed doubles prowess.
Ben Johns’s trophy cabinet is unparalleled; he possesses over 100 more titles than any male player except his brother, Collin, further emphasizing his extraordinary impact on the sport. The top three male players in terms of titles are Ben Johns with 123, Collin Johns with 31, and Matt Wright with 20, showcasing Ben’s significant lead.
Beyond his on-court achievements, Ben Johns is also a well-rounded individual. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Materials Science & Engineering, showcasing his commitment to academics alongside his athletic pursuits. His diverse hobbies include travel, reading, weightlifting, and investing, as well as engaging in other sports and games such as padel, table tennis, badminton, spikeball, golf, Fortnite, Magic: The Gathering, and chess, highlighting his broad range of interests. Ben Johns is also an entrepreneur in the pickleball world, co-owning three businesses: Pickleball Getaways, offering immersive pickleball vacation experiences; Pickleball 360, a subscription service for instructional pickleball videos; and Johns Design & Consulting, specializing in signature court design and planning. He also played a key role in the development of his signature JOOLA Perseus paddle, a testament to his influence in pickleball equipment innovation.
Originally from Laytonsville, Maryland, Ben Johns now resides in Austin, Texas. He is the middle child in a large family of seven children. His family’s involvement in pickleball extends beyond Ben, as his brother, Collin Johns, is his regular doubles partner, and his sister, Hannah Johns, is a familiar face on the PPA Tour as a sideline reporter and senior content editor, making pickleball a family affair.
