RICHARD’S DUPR RATING: 5.69 Doubles/5.57 Singles
Bounce Pickleball is thrilled to announce the first member of #TeamBounce, Richard Livornese, as our new playing professional.
Richard will be the focal point of the Bounce Performance Initative, which is a program designed to increase play competency throughout the greater Philadelphia region and create an atmosphere for professional-level pickleball success. Performance, along with play access, is one of the two pillars of the Bounce mission.
Bounce will be supporting Richard as he plays at professional pickleball events around the country. Richard recently earned a silver medal with partner @avapickleball at the APP Next Gen Tour stop in San Antonio, a series designed to showcase the top young talents in professional pickleball. He also was a member of the winning Team Smash at a recent Minor League Pickleball event in Tampa, Florida as part of the Major League Pickleball system – the largest professional pickleball tour on the planet. Richard will graduate from the Stevens Institute of Technology in May and will join the Bounce staff full-time, which will include giving lessons out of the Bounce facility in Malvern.
Watch out for Richard to represent Team Bounce in professional tournaments around the country and the world!
Get to know Richard!
Where do you go to college, and what are you studying?
I go to school at Stevens institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, and I graduate this May with a degree in Quantitative Finance.
How long have you been playing pickleball?
I have been playing pickleball now for about 2 years.
What are your biggest on-court accomplishments?
I have won some big 5.0 and open tournaments like the New York Open in singles at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, and the Philly open in mixed doubles. I have also now gotten over 12 pro wins on the APP and PPA tours, and recently participated in my first team-based event with Team Smash in Minor League Pickleball, where we won the Tampa event.
Has it been fun playing on the pro tour?
My experience on the pro tour is still growing but I have gotten to play a bunch of the best, and that’s always a great learning experience. I played Kyle Yates twice, Julian Arnold, and everyone’s favorite dude Tyson McGuffin. I am still getting my feet under me but I have lots of tournaments for this year so I am ready to make a splash.
What is your dream in pickleball?
My dream as a pickleball player is to be a top pro and at the same time get to share my love for the game with people through teaching and talking and just helping the game of pickleball continue to grow.
What do you love about teaching pickleball?
Teaching is so fun for a lot of reasons but the main ones for me is I love people and getting to talk and work with them all day is awesome. Secondly, I am really passionate about pickleball so getting the opportunity to share that passion for the game with others is something I have the privilege to do.
What are your 2 favorite drills in pickleball?
Two of my favorite drills is the reset drill which works on our fifth shot in transition because it is so vital to being able to get to net in pickleball, which is where the game really becomes fun. The second one is I have a fun volleying drill that helps to work on hand speed and placement because you can never have fast enough hands and pickleball is becoming faster and faster so the hand speed and volleys are becoming more important.
What would you be doing if you weren’t pursuing a career in pickleball?
If I wasn’t pursuing a career in pickleball I would probably be doing something in finance. Before I decided to become a part of Bounce I had a job offer from BNY Mellon in NYC so I might have been doing that. But honestly, it’s hard to imagine not doing pickleball now.