Pickleball prodigies: Tiburon father and son ready to smash it at national championships

A Tiburon father and son with a passion for pickleball are each set to compete in a national championship tournament this fall.

Michael and Nico Moon each qualified as singles players for the USA Pickleball National Championships, to be held Nov. 5-12 in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch, Texas. Both earned their berths at the Newport Beach Open, held June 28-July 3, where Michael, 51, placed first in the 4.5-and-under skill level in the 50-plus and 55-plus age range for men and Nico, 14, won first in the 3.5-skill-level tournament for ages 10-34.

Both said they were excited to qualify for the national championship, with Michael noting he and his son trained about six hours a day for a week in Lake Tahoe before the qualifying tournament. He called their victories “exhilarating.”

“The feeling that you get after you work so hard and get a good result is amazing,” he said.

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