Jewell Loyd is adding a new sport to her resume, pickleball. In her off-season, the now three-time WNBA Champion spent time in Bethesda, Md., encouraging fans to get involved in pickleball.
Loyd said the emerging sport caught her interest three years ago.
She recalls stepping on a court and getting beaten by senior citizen vets.
“I’m getting destroyed by these older women, and we felt super embarrassed. And so, after that, we were just playing as much as we could,” Loyd told 7News. “I got addicted to it,” she added.
Loyd, an Illinois native, was a college basketball standout at Notre Dame. The point guard spent her early career with the Seattle Storm before joining the Las Vegas Aces in 2025. Loyd and the Aces won a WNBA Championship in October.
When she’s not playing basketball, she’s on the pickleball court, using it as another outlet to relax.
“Having different outlets is super vital for me. You need a break when you’re always in grind mode. Sometimes you need to get outside your comfort zone to open up your mind a little bit, relax,” Loyd said.
Three-time WNBA Champion Jewell Loyd held a pickleball meet and greet for fans at Joola in Bethesda, MD on December 13, 2025. (Jade Lawson/7News){ }
“Some people might think, ‘Oh, you play another sport. It’s not really relaxing.’ But for me, it really is, because it’s challenging me in different ways. I’m around different people, so I’m learning constantly from other people,” she added.
Pickleball’s popularity continues to skyrocket across the country. 48.3 million American adults – nearly 19% of the total adult population – have played pickleball at least once in the past 12 months, according to The Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) 2023 research.
The WNBA champion, also known as the “Gold Mamba,” a nickname given to her by the late Kobe Bryant, believes pickleball is “inclusive.”
“I think pickle is one of the only sports that you could have a six-year-old playing with a 30-year-old who’s playing with a 60-year-old who’s playing with someone who has never even known what the sport is about,” Loyd said.
Her passion led to a partnership with JOOLA, a pickleball and table tennis apparel and product company.
Loyd met with some fans at a JOOLA shop in Bethesda, signing autographs and talking to customers about pickleball.
“I had a friend who kind of invited me out, told me the meet and greet was going on,” said Nate Kamara, Maryland native and fan of Loyd.
“I have a couple of friends who also play pickleball. So much of a much of a kind of, want to meet Jewell and, you know, trying to see what’s going on with pickleball,” Kamara added.
Kamara said after meeting Loyd, and with his friend’s encouragement, he’s definitely considering picking up a pickleball paddle and hitting the court soon.
