Jada Bui Brings Australian Open Grit to Mumbai's Pickleball Playoff Push

Before pickleball, tennis had shaped Bui's worldview. "With pro tennis, it took me to over 35 countries," she said as quoted by a WPBL press release. Australia remains her favourite stop, because it hosted her Grand Slam experience in 2020. That grounding in elite tennis still informs how she approaches competition in a measured yet purposeful manner.

It also explains her sporting heroes. Maria Sharapova was the first.

"Sharapova was tenacious, in sport, as well as in business. I really look up to that," Bui said.

Then there's Roger Federer, whose longevity and perspective fascinate her, and Kobe Bryant, admired for humility and an unrelenting appetite for improvement.

Born in Toronto and now based in Tampa, Florida, Bui comfortably straddles two homes. Canada gave her family and grounding, whereas Florida offered year-round training without winter interruptions. She answers simply to Jada, or "J", though "J Bui" stuck during her college tennis years because, as she put it, "It's easy to yell."

On court, she identifies as an all-court player with an attacking instinct. "If there is a chance to be offensive, I will take it," she said.

Under pressure, she returns to a phrase her father repeated while she and her sister were growing up, i.e "hard is hard. Earn everything, and do not quit. Another mantra steadies her in tougher moments is that the sun will rise, a spirit that her WPBL outfit desperately needs at the moment.

"No matter what happens, tomorrow is another chance to get better," she said.

For Mumbai Pickle Power, results have not fallen their way yet this season, but belief remains intact. Bui's presence brings a layer of international pedigree and composure under scrutiny. India is her first overseas stop in pickleball, and it's a milestone she approaches with curiosity and intent.

If Mumbai are to engineer a mid-season surge, it will likely be driven by players comfortable with pressure and perspective, and Jada Bui has lived both on Grand Slam courts, across continents, and now, on the WPBL stage.

- ANI