Once a tennis standout, Anna Clarice Patrimonio joins the movement fueling the Philippines’ pickleball explosion and proving the sport is more than just a passing craze.
There was a time when Anna Clarice Patrimonio was being billed as the next big thing in Philippine tennis.
At 18, she was already winning medals at the Southeast Asian Games. Then along with her sister Christine, she brought UAAP tennis championships to National University, winning an MVP award along the way.
She seemed destined to carve her own path in her chosen sport, the same way her dad carved his in a big way in professional basketball. In fact, she was already dreaming big.
“Ever since nung bata ako, like five years old, nagti-tennis na ako and I started competing at ten years old for local tournaments muna,” Clarice told The GAME in an exclusive interview.
“’Yung passion ko talaga is tennis dati. And I thought I would be, parang sila Serena Williams, like joining the Wimbledon and US Open, Australian Open. And so, ayun, in 2011, I started playing for the Philippine team. First SEA Games ko sa Palembang (Indonesia).”
Clarice repped the Philippines in a couple more SEA Games editions – in Kuala Lumpur in 2017 and here in Manila in 2019 – before the pandemic shut everything down. Then she had a baby, and suddenly tennis was the last thing on her mind.
Racket sports roots
Growing up with a Philippine sports icon for a father practically ensured that Clarice Patrimonio and her siblings would become athletes. Yet dad Alvin, a four-time Philippine Basketball Association MVP and one of the greatest basketball players this country has produced, never forced his son and two daughters to follow in his footsteps.
In fact, Clarice and her siblings discovered tennis in a rather unusual way.
“Dahil sa video game,” she said. “Sa Family Computer, may tennis, diba? Doon nag-start.”
Pretty soon, they were following the careers of actual tennis stars like Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. Her parents were also following how much money these players were making.
“Nakita ‘yung prize money, malaki pag nagcha-champion sa Wimbledon,” Clarice recalls.
So one summer, the Patrimonios enrolled their three kids in a summer tennis camp at the Valle Verde Sports Club. Clarice was nine at the time, while her elder sister Christine, who would also become a notable college tennis player, was 11.
The sisters showed so much potential that they were sent to a tennis academy in Valencia, Spain, where they spent over two years honing their skills. Essentially, they were Alex Eala before Alex Eala.
Eventually, they came home and earned scholarships at NU, where they reigned supreme for several seasons.
The Patrimonio sisters were also lucky to have a dad who, despite his acclaim, never pressured them to do something they didn’t want to do. Throughout their childhood, Alvin was always there to lend support, and Clarice is grateful to this day for his calm, gentle demeanor
“Ang sinasabi sa amin, ‘Basta, play your best. ‘Yun ‘yung parati niyang sinasabi. Play your best. “Sobrang appreciate ko ‘yung mga ginagawa niya. I can see that super humble siya sa mga tao. Pagka-athlete niya, sobrang humble niya talaga. Wala, I don’t know. Wala akong masabi. Super dedicated talaga siya sa career niya. That’s it.”
Switching to pickleball
Sometime in the middle of the lockdown, when things were beginning to open up, the government gradually allowed a few sports to be played outdoors — specifically those that could be done with social distancing.
One of those was pickleball, which had been introduced in the Philippines a few years back but hadn’t fully gained traction yet. Quietly, several pickleball communities were sprouting all over the country as more people were looking for fun but safe physical activities after being holed up in lockdown for over a year.
Unlike tennis, with its large playing area, or basketball, which was a contact sport and thus still prohibited, pickleball was easy to set up and didn’t violate any quarantine rules. All it needed was a small, flat surface and a portable net.
What’s more, it could be played by anyone regardless of age, gender or skill level. For a tennis player like Clarice, who was looking for a new activity to stay in shape, pickleball seemed to be the perfect fit.
At first, though, she wasn’t too sure.
“Actually, ‘yung friend ko din, galing din sa tennis,” she recalled. “So, in-introduce sa’kin. Actually, inaaya ako maglaro nung 2017 pa. Pero, sabi ko, ‘Ano ‘yung pickleball?’ Nagte-tennis pa ako noon. So, 2023, nag-try ako maglaro. Wala pang court masyado dito noon eh.”
Ironically, it was at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) courts, where she played her last tennis tournament in 2023, where she also played her first pickleball match.
“Kinonvert na pickleball court, ‘yung badminton (court). Wooden pa ‘yung floor. So, tin-ry ko, parang okay pala siya, parang tennis. Tapos, after nun, sunod-sunod na ‘‘yung araw, naglalaro.”
The experience, Clarice says, was at once familiar yet strange.
“Sabi ko, nung una, parang weird kasi ‘yung racket, mas maliit. And then, ‘yung bola, plastic. Maganda doon kasi parang similar sa tennis ‘yung sport. But smaller na court. And iba ‘yung racket, iba ‘yung ball.”
It didn’t take long for Clarice Patrimonio to flex her tennis-honed skills on the pickleball court. Her manager, Robby Navarrete, recalled seeing her play for the first time at a regular pickleball gathering at Village East in Cainta.
“I was playing pickleball that time,” he said. “Hindi ko siya kilala as Patrimonio. And then, me and my men’s doubles partner, who plays tennis, nakalaro namin siya.
“Tapos na-pickle niya kami on her second day of playing pickleball.”
In local pickleball lingo, “na-pickle” means you failed to score a single point against your opponent. In other words, it’s humiliating.
The result, while shocking, convinced Robby that this player across the net was the real deal.
“Sabi ko, ‘May potential ‘tong batang to, ah. Magaling. So, sabi ko, kailangan nito siguro ng guidance para ma-achieve ‘yung gusto niya.
So, from that day on, nagkakaroon kami ng mga open plays na nakikita ko si Clarice. Hindi ko lang alam na well-known pala na tennis player.”
After her initial foray into pickleball proved successful, Clarice made the decision to trade in her tennis racket for a pickleball paddle. She hasn’t looked back since.
“Actually, after ‘yung second time kong maglaro, parang inisip ko na talaga na pickleball na. Parang gusto ko na mag-shift talaga sa pickleball.”
“(It was an) easy transition. Kasi parang gusto ko din mag-change sport na, eh. Parang, ano naman, ibang pathway ko naman sa pickleball.
“And I think ginawa ko naman ‘yung best ko sa tennis career ko.”
And with that, Clarice became a full-time pickleball player.
Different sport, different vibes
Five months into her new career, Clarice Patrimonio won her first international medal, a bronze in women’s singles at the 2023 World Pickleball Championship in Bali.
Soon, more awards and medals followed. A gold and three bronzes in the 2024 edition. Women’s singles champion in the 2025 edition in Thailand. Recognition from the WPC as Asia’s top women’s singles player in 2024. Philippine Pickleball League Open 2026 champion in both women’s singles and women’s doubles.
For someone who just started playing three years ago, pickleball sure seemed to come naturally for Clarice. This wasn’t to say, though, that the transition was smooth.
“Faster rallies,” was her immediate reply when asked what was the biggest difference between tennis and pickleball. In sports, a rally is the sequence when two sides go back and forth hitting the ball over the net. A fast rally, therefore, means a shorter sequence.
“The court is smaller in pickleball,” Robby adds. “And ito nga ‘yung kitchen game, which is, you’re playing it seven feet away from the net, both ends, so 14 feet. So, mas mabilis ‘yung returns.”
The smaller court and different rules initially proved to be a challenge for Clarice.
“Kasi aggressive player ako sa tennis. I play the drive, ‘yung shots. And also, singles player ako. Hindi ako nagdo-doubles masyado. So, parang malaking adjustment sa akin sa doubles game.”
Pickleball, unlike tennis, is less power and finesse.
“Kaya ‘yung mga iba rin tennis players transitioning to pickleball, hindi nila kaya ‘yung ‘hands battle’ of having your opponent front to front,” Robby added. “Na yun ‘yung na-develop niya, from also playing hard game, which is hitting ground strokes ng tennis. Pero pickleball has this non-volley zone and you have to achieve that soft game.”
Yet more than the rules and strategies, Clarice noticed a subtle yet crucial difference between the tennis and pickleball ecosystems.
“Parang mas may sense of community sa pickleball,” she noted. “Pickleball kasi is more like, you can approach anybody. You have same interests. Mas nakaka-relate. Nakakadala ‘yung kausap mo na, ‘Oy, laro ka’. Ayain mo lang. ‘Laro ka na. Try mo ‘yung pickleball.’”
Adds Robby: “It’s not that easy to just say, ‘Uy, tennis tayo’. Tsaka ‘yung nga rin, ang difference with tennis, ang gusto mong group, ‘yung of same level na. Kasi nga, you have to book the court, which is rare na makakuha ng booking din.
“Tapos, gusto mong quality games kaagad. Kasi nga you’re gonna play that up to set of six. Pero you’re just playing with the same four persons.
“What makes it fun with pickleball you only play it race to 11, on a 10-to-15 minute game. Then you get a chance to play with others of different levels. Kaya that makes it fun and social. When I joined a community of pickleball, in one month I had 50 new friends.”
Pickleball gatherings invoke “open play”, where players all get a chance to play in a venue that usually has several courts. It creates an atmosphere of camaraderie and community, which is a big reason for its rise in popularity.
“You can socialize,” said Clarice. “Exercise ka 10 to 15 minutes, one game. Then you sit down, may nakapila. Then that’s the time you engage and interact with the others. Pag tennis, parang ‘yung whole straight hour mo, naglalaro kayo.”
What lies ahead – for Clarice and pickleball
It would be accurate to say that Clarice Patrimonio chose to focus on pickleball at a most opportune time. Aside from the sport’s booming popularity, just recently the Games and Amusements Board, the governing body for professional sports in the Philippines, has declared pickleball a professional sport.
This means that top players can now earn prize money from playing in major local tournaments without having to go abroad to do so. It’s a major step towards nudging pickleball from popular pastime to legitimate sport.
There is also a movement to get pickleball into the Olympic calendar, with the 2032 Brisbane Games as the goal. The Philippine Pickleball Federation, the organization recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) as the sport’s official national sports association (NSA), is affiliated with the World Pickleball Federation, which is spearheading the Olympic movement.
Meanwhile, there are signs everywhere to trumpet pickleball’s popularity. The major malls all have a dedicated pickleball area, sometimes right smack in the middle of their activity area, while any fitness establishment worth its salt already has its own courts. You can’t scroll your social media feed without seeing at least one friend post about their club or game result.
“Meron rin tayong mga commercial leagues, and meron rin mga international leagues,” Robby says. “Meron rin tayong coming this October ‘yung World Cup. It’s gonna happen in Da-Nang, Vietnam.”
In the middle of all this, Clarice Patrimonio will surely be there as a top Philippine pickleball player. And although she didn’t fulfill her dream of playing in Wimbledon, she’s still in a good spot in her life. The key, she believes, is to stay grounded and to surround yourself with the right people.
“Enjoy lang,” she says with a smile. “Enjoy lang parati, kahit mahirap. You have to be tough talaga, and believe in yourself in any situation. Kung kailangan ng tulong, maghanap ka ng tutulong sayo. Stay with positive people.
“Aangat ka talaga.”
Text SID VENTURA
Photography ENZO SANTOS
Grooming MANDY LIAU-YU, AYANA CARPIO, MARIA THERESA GILA
Creative and Art Direction ROBIN TOPACIO
Sittings Editor SID VENTURA
Production Coordination VIANCA JIMENEZ, SID VENTURA, AMIEL DUGENIA, RJ BALLECER
Special thanks to MIKE JOHNSON & ROBBY NAVARRETE
Frequently Asked Questions
Anna Clarice Patrimonio transitioned to pickleball in 2023 after looking for a safe, socially distanced outdoor activity to stay in shape during the pandemic. Realizing her tennis skills allowed for an easy transition, she fell in love with the fast-paced nature of the game and decided to pivot her athletic pathway entirely.
Within just three years of shifting sports, Patrimonio has achieved massive success, including winning a gold and three bronze medals at the 2024 World Pickleball Championship. She was named Asia’s top women’s singles player in 2024 and dominated the 2026 Philippine Pickleball League Open by winning both the women’s singles and doubles titles.
The primary differences lie in the equipment, court size, and pacing, as pickleball features a smaller court, plastic balls, smaller paddles, and much faster rallies. Additionally, pickleball requires mastering a strategic “soft game” and navigating the 7-foot non-volley zone near the net, known as the kitchen.
Pickleball is experiencing an explosion in popularity because it is highly accessible, social, and easy to play regardless of age, gender, or skill level. The sport uses an “open play” format that fosters deep community building, while major malls and fitness centers are actively building courts to keep up with consumer demand.
Yes, the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) has officially declared pickleball a professional sport in the Philippines. This milestone designation allows elite domestic players to earn prize money from major local tournaments, legitimizing the game as a viable career path for local athletes.
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