Zane Navratil

Zane Navratil traded spreadsheets for scorecards when he left his CPA job at Deloitte in 2020 to play pickleball full-time. The Wisconsin native, who won three state tennis championships at The Prairie School before playing college tennis at UW-Whitewater, discovered pickleball at a Racine community center in 2013 and hasn't looked back. Now based in Austin, Texas, Navratil is one of the most recognizable names in the sport, known for popularizing the infamous "Chainsaw Serve" that generated so much spin it literally forced USA Pickleball to change the rules.

Navratil is the winningest player in Major League Pickleball history with four MLP titles, and he's reached as high as No. 1 in men's singles. He was elected President of the UPA Pro Player Committee in 2025, cementing his role as both a competitor and leader in the sport. Beyond the court, he runs a popular YouTube channel, hosts The PicklePod, and operates an online training academy. Whether he's battling Ben Johns in a singles final or teaching the fundamentals to weekend warriors, Navratil brings the same intensity and analytical mind that once made him a very good accountant.