Hunter Johnson Discusses Mental Challenges of Being World No. 1 in Pickleball
Mental Struggles of a Top Athlete
Hunter Johnson, the leading pickleball player globally, has openly shared his experiences regarding the mental strain associated with achieving the top position in the sport. He acknowledged that once an athlete reaches the pinnacle, doubts and expectations can often invade their thoughts. Johnson reflected on the emotional and psychological hurdles of maintaining his No. 1 status, stating, “Being number one is mentally, physically… yeah, it’s a lot.”
The American athlete elaborated that attaining the top rank introduces new pressures that many competitors find challenging to manage. “You see it in women’s tennis all the time for some reason. Someone will have a crazy run to number one and then all of a sudden they just drop off,” he noted. “That really is a real thing. You don't know it until you know it and you don't really even know how to navigate it until you're experiencing it.”
Upon reaching the top of the rankings after years of dedication, Johnson found himself confronted with new questions. “I worked so hard in my singles game to get to number one and then you reach that pinnacle and you're like, ‘okay, now what? I got to stay up here.’” He admitted that self-doubt can quickly surface after achieving such heights. “You realize you did all these things to get there. You won all these tournaments and then all of a sudden you start to doubt yourself,” he explained.
Johnson also mentioned that external pressures, particularly from commentary, intensified the challenges he faced during his ascent. “Dave Fleming put a lot of pressure on me,” he acknowledged. “I'll give it to his credit. It helped me to work even that much harder.” He recalled how comments about his title status weighed heavily on him, adding to the pressure he felt.
He described how these thoughts sometimes emerged during matches when his performance was lacking. “In that match with Roscoe, in that match with Barlow, it's like sometimes that thought can creep in. When your game's a little off, it comes back.” Despite these difficulties, Johnson has learned to better manage his emotions compared to earlier in his career. “I used to always be like that,” he said. “But the difference was that when I started winning tournaments, I was able to reset quicker.”
He shared that he now channels his emotions to energize himself and reset during competitions. “I would almost use my emotion as a way to get the energy out and then I would reset.” Johnson acknowledged that negativity previously had a more significant impact on him during matches. “Before, when I was losing second round all the time, it was like my negativity would go down, down, down, down, down.” Now, he maintains a more stable emotional baseline, allowing for fluctuations but keeping them within a manageable range.
Ultimately, Johnson believes that the most significant battles occur within a player's mind. “A lot of the stuff is literally made up within your own head,” he stated. “It's not real. It's all mental.” He emphasized that, regardless of outcomes and rankings, personal happiness is paramount. “Win or lose, I don't care. I want to be happy in life. I want my friends to be happy,” he concluded. “I have so much fun with my friends off the court.”