Samantha Parker

Samantha Parker is a professional pickleball player from Grapevine, Texas, who turned pro in 2024 after a standout college tennis career. Standing 5'4", she played at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith and the University of Texas at Dallas, where she earned Conference Freshman Player of the Year honors, became a two-time ITA All-American, and reached the 2021 NCAA National semifinals in doubles. She also holds a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do after 12 years of training, so her opponents might want to keep things civil at the kitchen line.

Parker was introduced to pickleball by a co-worker in September 2022 and got serious fast, triple-crowning at the 4.0 level at the Texas Open in June 2023. She now competes on the PPA Tour in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, including appearances at the Pickleball World Championships where she notched a singles win over Genie Bouchard. What makes her story even more impressive is that she balances her pro career with a full-time job as a computer scientist, training in the gym 2-3 times a week and drilling on Sundays. She lives in Grapevine with her husband Vaughn.