Bien Zoleta is sticking with soft tennis despite gaining some measure of success in pickleball in recent international competitions.
In a conversation with Daily Tribune, Zoleta admitted that she enjoys playing pickleball but her heart will always be with soft tennis where she won a pair of gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games.
Together with her brother, Karl, Zoleta made heads turn when her Lucena City Pickleball Club emerged successful in the 2024 Asia Pickleball Open at the Thanyapura Sports and Health Center in Phuket, Thailand last month.
Zoleta partnered with Yanhua Hawkins of the United States in plucking a bronze medal in the women’s doubles event 4.5 category of her first ever international pickleball competition.
Her younger sister, Bambi, was also supposed to compete, but she was calling the shots for the national girls’ lawn tennis team in the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifying event.
Zoleta, who started her career as a lawn tennis player, said she used pickleball as a way of cross-training since it has the same discipline as soft tennis.
“It’s like that I had a different perspective. I can apply in soft tennis things that I do in pickleball. I’m happy that both sports are connected,” Zoleta said, adding that there’s no conflict between the two sports because her coaches are very supportive.
“It’s different because the federation and the coaches are supportive to us because they know that it will benefit us as athletes. Our priority remains with soft tennis.”
Zoleta added that pickleball provides her a major boost to her soft tennis career, something that she can use when she competes in the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand next year.
