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| Lucy (Lucia) Kovalova |
Full Name: Lucy (Lucia) Kovalova | Current Status: Active — competing on the PPA Tour across all three divisions and for the Milwaukee Mashers in Major League Pickleball
Lucy Kovalova didn't discover pickleball through a coach or a tour scout — she discovered it through a made-up paddle game with a group of guys in Wichita, Kansas. A decade later, she's stacked up 21 PPA Tour women's doubles titles and an 11-tournament winning streak that's still one of the more remarkable runs the sport has seen.
Biography Summary
Lucy Kovalova built her competitive foundation in Division I tennis before discovering pickleball. She arrived in the United States from a small Slovak village to compete for Wichita State, transitioning into professional pickleball shortly after her collegiate career concluded.
What followed was one of the more understated dominant stretches in the sport's history: a Triple Crown, a No. 1 doubles ranking, and an 11-tournament win streak that still gets brought up when people talk about the sport's early competitive peak.
Nearly a decade later, she's still on tour, still based in Wichita, and still playing mixed doubles with the same partner who talked her into trying pickleball in the first place.
Early Life
Kovalova was born April 5, 1992, in Prešov, Slovakia, the daughter of Frantisek and Elena Kovalova, with a brother, Marcel, and a sister, Zuzana. She grew up playing competitive tennis and eventually earned a scholarship to Wichita State University, arriving in Kansas to play Division I tennis.
Her college career was decorated in its own right: she was named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, earned MVC All-Conference honors at the No. 3 singles position, and went undefeated in conference singles play during one spring season. By her own account, she realized during those years that she didn't have quite enough to turn pro in tennis.
Professional Career
Kovalova's career arc is unusual for the sport: a tennis player who found her real ceiling in a completely different racket sport, almost by chance, in her mid-twenties.
An Accidental Beginning
In the fall of 2015, a group in Wichita led by future partner Matt Wright started playing an improvised version of paddle tennis. When the group discovered actual pickleball later that year, Kovalova — freshly out of college tennis and looking for competitive outlets — found her fit almost immediately. She turned professional in 2016 and competed in the inaugural US Open Pickleball Championship that same year, back when the event carried no prize money and drew sparse crowds.
The Peak: Triple Crown and an 11-Title Streak
By 2017, she and Wright had already won gold in mixed doubles at the US Open. The following year brought her signature individual achievement — the 2018 USA Pickleball Nationals Women's Triple Crown, sweeping women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at the same event.
Her women's doubles game kept climbing from there. A 2019 US Open women's doubles title and a 2020 Mesa Grand Slam gold set up the most dominant stretch of her career: 11 consecutive women's doubles tournament titles across 2020 and 2021, a run that carried her and her partners to the No. 1 world ranking in the division.
A Rotating Cast of Partners
Unlike her mixed doubles setup — nine-plus years with Wright and counting — Kovalova's women's doubles career has run through several elite partnerships. She built her early dominance alongside Simone Jardim, formed "superteams" at various points with Irina Tereschenko, spent roughly two years partnered with Callie Smith, and has recently paired with Kaitlyn Christian in 2026 events. Through all of it, gold at the 2023 Newport Beach Shootout kept her name near the top of the women's doubles conversation even as the sport's talent pool exploded with younger players.
Career Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Born April 5 in Prešov, Slovakia |
| 2011–2015 | Plays Division I tennis at Wichita State University; MVC Freshman of the Year |
| 2015 | Discovers pickleball through an informal paddle-tennis group in Wichita |
| 2016 | Turns professional; competes in the inaugural US Open Pickleball Championship |
| 2017 | Gold, US Open Pro Mixed Doubles, with Matt Wright |
| 2018 | USA Pickleball Nationals Women's Triple Crown champion |
| 2019 | Gold, US Open Pro Women's Doubles |
| 2020 | Gold, PPA Mesa Grand Slam Women's Doubles |
| 2020–2021 | 11 consecutive PPA Tour women's doubles titles; reaches No. 1 world ranking in the division |
| 2023 | Gold, PPA Newport Beach Shootout Women's Doubles |
| 2024–2026 | Continues on the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball with the Milwaukee Mashers |
Major Achievements
- USA Pickleball Nationals Women's Triple Crown champion (2018)
- Gold, US Open Pro Mixed Doubles (2017, with Matt Wright)
- Gold, US Open Pro Women's Doubles (2019)
- 11 consecutive PPA Tour women's doubles titles (2020–2021), reaching a No. 1 world ranking
- 21 career PPA Tour women's doubles titles
Highlights & Video
Awards & Honors
- USA Pickleball Women's Triple Crown Champion (2018)
- Four-time USA Pickleball National Champion
- No. 1 World Ranking, Women's Doubles (2021)
Career Statistics
| Division | PPA Rank (2026) | DUPR Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Doubles | #42 | 5.650 |
| Mixed Doubles | #51 | — |
| Women's Singles | #178 | 5.491 |
Across 94 professional tournaments and 344 career matches, Kovalova has recorded 199 wins for a 57.9% career win rate, with 65 career medals.
Records
- 11 consecutive PPA Tour women's doubles titles (2020–2021), one of the longest win streaks recorded in the sport's early professional era
- 21 career PPA Tour women's doubles titles
Net Worth
Kovalova's net worth has not been independently verified. One low-authority site estimates roughly $1.5 million based on prize money, sponsorships, and coaching income; another figure circulating online ($5.4 million) actually appears to describe her partner Matt Wright, not Kovalova herself, and has been mixed up across several bio sites. Treat any specific figure as unconfirmed.
Gear & Equipment
Kovalova plays the Onix Evoke Premier paddle, a line she co-developed with Matt Wright — one of the earlier widely adopted pro-designed paddles in the sport.
Playing Style
Kovalova is known for a composed, unreadable on-court demeanor paired with a heavy two-handed backhand that punishes any floating ball near the transition zone. Her game is built around control and pressure rather than pure pace — a style that translated directly from her competitive tennis background and has kept her relevant in doubles even as the pro game has sped up around her.
Personal Life
Kovalova lives in Wichita, Kansas, where she teaches tennis and pickleball at a local country club and runs a coaching academy alongside Matt Wright, her longtime mixed doubles partner both on and off the court. Away from pickleball, she describes herself as "super girly," with an enthusiasm for fashion, shopping, and celebrity gossip that stands in contrast to her stone-faced court persona.
Official Social Media Profiles
Legacy
Kovalova's career maps almost exactly onto pickleball's own transformation from a backyard curiosity into a real professional sport. She played in the first US Open when there was no prize money and barely any audience, then rode the sport's growth to a Triple Crown, a No. 1 ranking, and a decade-plus career that's outlasted most of the players who entered the tour around the same time.
Her staying power in doubles — across multiple partners, multiple eras of the sport's competitive landscape — is arguably a bigger story than any single title.
Interesting Facts
- She discovered pickleball through a made-up paddle game before it was formally organized in her town.
- She was Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in college tennis at Wichita State.
- She competed in the very first US Open Pickleball Championship in 2016, when the event offered no prize money.
- She and Matt Wright have been mixed doubles partners for nine-plus years — one of the longest-running pairings in the sport.
- She's played women's doubles alongside three different elite partners over her career: Simone Jardim, Irina Tereschenko, and Callie Smith.
- She co-designed her own signature paddle, the Onix Evoke Premier, with Wright.
- She teaches tennis and pickleball at a Wichita country club when she's not on tour.
- She's a self-described "shopaholic" who follows fashion and celebrity culture off the court.
- She and Wright run a joint pickleball and tennis coaching academy in Wichita.
- Her 11-tournament women's doubles win streak (2020–2021) remains one of the sport's most cited early-era records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Lucy Kovalova?
Kovalova was born April 5, 1992, making her 34 years old as of September 2026.
Is Lucy Kovalova married to Matt Wright?
They are long-time mixed doubles partners both on and off the court, but there is no public confirmation that they are married.
Where is Lucy Kovalova from?
She was born in Prešov, Slovakia, and now resides in Wichita, Kansas.
What MLP team does Lucy Kovalova play for?
She plays for the Milwaukee Mashers in Major League Pickleball, alongside her mixed doubles partner Matt Wright.
What is Lucy Kovalova's biggest achievement?
Her 2018 USA Pickleball Nationals Women's Triple Crown and her 11-tournament women's doubles win streak in 2020–2021 are widely considered her signature achievements.
What paddle does Lucy Kovalova use?
She plays the Onix Evoke Premier, a paddle she co-designed with Matt Wright.
What is Lucy Kovalova's net worth?
No verified figure exists publicly. Online estimates vary and are frequently confused with figures belonging to her partner, Matt Wright.
The Final Verdict
Lucy Kovalova's career doesn't fit the "prodigy" mold that defines so many pickleball headlines today. She got to the top of the sport in her late twenties, coming from a completely different racket sport, through a partnership that started as a favor to a friend's paddle game.
Nearly ten years later, with a Triple Crown, a 21-title résumé, and a mixed doubles partnership still going strong, she remains proof that the sport's early boom rewarded more than just teenage phenoms.
Where does Kovalova's 11-tournament streak with Simone Jardim rank among the most dominant runs in women's doubles history? Share your perspective or memories in the comments below.
