Triple Gold: Craig wins three pickleball gold medals at US Open

Ashley Craig of Columbus returns a shot during the last month’s US Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida.

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Ashley Craig was a volleyball player at Columbus North, but had almost no prior experience with racquet sports until about 3 1/2 years ago.

That’s when Craig’s mother Judy Cummings urged her to give pickleball a try. Craig tried it and immediately took a liking to the sport.

“It kind of sparked the competitiveness again,” Craig said. “I kind of got hooked on it and started taking lessons because I realized I didn’t know what I was doing. I took lessons from a pro in Indianapolis and continued to drill and work on it.”

Now, Craig is one of the top pickleball players in the country at her age and skill level. The 2006 North graduate won three gold medals at the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships the last week of April in Naples, Florida.

Ashley Craig of Columbus, second from right, and her partner Courtney Shedd of Bloomington stand atop the podium after winning the Women’s Doubles 35+ at last month’s US Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida.

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Craig, who is president of the Columbus Pickleball Club, won both the women’s doubles 35+ and the women’s doubles 4.5 35+ divisions, both with partner Courtney Shedd of Bloomington. Craig also won the Mixed Doubles 35+ division with partner Michael Roenigk of Indianapolis.

“I think practicing and really drilling and focusing on my game and having good partners (was a big factor),” Craig said. “I don’t come from any kind of paddle sport, racquet sport background, but I put in a lot of time to get there. A lot of people want to play. It’s very social. But to get to the highest levels, you have to practice.”

To get in that practice, Craig often travels to Indianapolis and Louisville so she can train with people with a similar skill level.

“It doesn’t require a tennis background,” Craig said. “It’s pretty easily learned, but you have to put practice in if you want to play at a higher level. If you want to get better, you have to spend the time drilling. You can’t just play rec games all the time.”

Ashley Craig of Columbus awaits a return during the last month’s US Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida.

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Craig has come a long way since first playing with her mother in a fundraiser for Thrive Alliance in 2018. That fall, they played in the Discover Columbus tournament and won the women’s doubles 2.5 division.

After starting out playing in the 2.0 and 2.5 divisions at tournaments, Craig now plays at the 4.5 and 5.0 level.

“My mom and her retired friends here locally played, and she wanted me to try it out,” Craig said. “It’s a very welcoming group and multi-generational. All of those folks taught me how to play and were whipping me all over the court.”

Also at the US Open, George Devidze of Columbus won the bronze medal in Mixed 35+ with his sister Salome. Mary Moore, founder of the Columbus Pickleball Club, also played in Women’s Doubles 3.5 65+ in the tournament that featured about 2,700 players.

Craig, who works in technology implementation and product development for the accounting and consulting firm Crowe LLP, wants to keep improving at pickleball.

“Just continue to get better and more consistent and continue to play at higher levels,” Craig said.