July 20, 2026
She was abused, in despair, stressed out and obese. Now, Sarah Bowman is ranked among the country’s 10 best 50 and over female pickleball players.
Sarah had an abusive husband. He often didn’t hold a job while she worked three or more. Sarah, 56, is a licensed attorney. She graduated first in her high school class. She is a legal recruiter and worked remotely when the two daughters she had with her ex-husband were young so she could drive them to their school and sports activities.
“The violence started early in our relationship but stayed very private and isolated,” Sarah told me. “Anyone who knows him knows how scary his energy and his eyes and his demeanor are. He is a foot taller than me and is a bodybuilder, so his words and actions were often equally scary.
“It was mental and emotional abuse constantly saying the meanest, most atrocious insults even though I had previous and current success as an athlete, a student, a professional, and a mother,” Sarah said from her home in western Maryland.
The fear led to stress which led to overeating.
“At the end of each stressful day as I sat back down in my home office to begin work for a side job, I ate a big bowl of cereal or some other unnecessary high calorie food,” Sarah said.
Only 5’1” tall, Sarah’s weight ballooned to 188 pounds in 2016. Her husband was arrested for domestic violence in November 2019. He spent three months in jail before Sarah dropped the charges. “While he was incarcerated he said all the right things and I felt like he served enough time,” she said.
The Rochester, NY, native has always been disciplined, driven and goal oriented.
“I played tennis six days a week, 12 months a year, starting at age 9, and I studied for tests until I knew the material inside and out,” Sarah says.
Her ambition paid off. She graduated first in her high school class, was a standout varsity tennis player and played tennis during all four of her years at Princeton University.
In April 2022, Sarah took an introductory pickleball class given by her local recreation department.
“I quickly became passionate about pickleball and wanted to improve and reach my highest level possible,” Sarah said. “I have not stopped feeling hungry for improvement as a student of the game.”
Sarah lost 65 pounds, but felt too weak at 123 and now is a muscular 130 pounds.
“I started my weight loss with intermittent fasting,” she says. “After losing some of the weight, I got back into running, hiking, tennis and weightlifting. Two years later, I started pickleball. Once I became serious about improving at pickleball, I started off-court training with no goal of losing weight. I just wanted to get stronger and more fit. One of my favorite off-court workouts is to run up and down steep hills while wearing a 30-pound weighted vest. I found myself needing to put some weight back on because I was at risk of losing some of my power.”
Sarah is ranked 7th in singles in the Senior Pro 50 and over division on the APP tour. Her age-based DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating) is 5.018. In 2025 she tried out for and was drafted to a team in the USLPL age 50+ pro league. In 2026, Sarah tried out for and was drafted by a team in the USLPL age 35+ league.
She teaches at Dill Dinkers in Hagerstown, MD, and gives private lessons at some students' home courts and at courts in their communities. In February 2027 she will teach at a resort in Costa Rica.
I asked Sarah about the five most common mistakes she sees rec players make.
1) “I see a lot of impatience. Many players at the 3.5 level seem bored with a point and try to hit a winner when there is no opportunity to hit a winner. Players need to be patiently aggressive.
2) “Poor shot selection is a common mistake at that level. It is important to hit the shot that your opponent does not like- drop it at the feet of the banger, and hit hard at the opponent who cannot handle power.
3) “Aiming is a common oversight at that level. It is important to aim with a nice margin for error. It is also important to hit the ball where the opponent is not! Players at this level need to look at where the opponent is or which way their body momentum is heading and hit the ball the other way.
4) “Shot placement and shot selection are more important than power and spin. Power should not exceed 80%!
5) “Players need to remember to be kind and play fairly; reputations and friendships are forming on these courts!”
Her top five tips for the typical 3.5 player:
1) “Drill two thirds of your days on the court- but be sure you are drilling the correct mechanics.
2) “Take lessons on proper shot mechanics.
3) “Take lessons on proper game strategy and court positioning.
4) “Write down every tip and review your notes before the next practice.
5) “Play with different players to get used to new point patterns.”
Her immediate goals are to be drafted onto a USLPL 50+ team this year, and, she says, “I want to beat a player ranked above me in APP senior pro singles.”
Perhaps more importantly, Sarah Bowman says, “I am grateful to be emotionally, financially, socially, and physically healthy now!”
And an inspiration to everyone who knows what she overcame, and to those who know her now.
Thoughts of the week, not all pickleball
· Baseball’s All-Star game was a snooze fest. The pregame ceremony and the Fox Sports promos in the pregame breaks were far better than the game itself, a 4-0 American League win. The Home Run Derby the night before was also much better than the game.
· Phillies fans booed every National League all-star except of course their own players and it cracked me up. Not surprising though in the “City of Brotherly Love.” Philadelphia Eagles fans famously booed and threw snowballs at a fan dressed as Santa Claus during halftime of a game in 1968.
· Saw the “Happy Together” show this week in Tucson. It features seven bands from the 60’s including The Association, The Vogues, Gary Puckett (from Gary Puckett and The Union Gap), and The Cowsills. Every group sang four songs, all of them major hits. The musicians, mostly in their 70’s, displayed a commendable amount of enthusiasm and just looked like they were having a blast. The sold-out crowd certainly did.
· The much anticipated film about pickleball, The Dink, drops on Apple TV+ on July 24th. It has a star-studded cast, including Ben Stiller, Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen and Ed Harris. Let’s hope it’s nothing like A Pickleball Christmas, the insipid rom com that aired last year. That film showed actors portraying supposedly good tournament players, but they played entire games on the baseline. And by the way, indoor balls were used though the tournament was outside. Lifetime TV must have been too cheap to pay someone who knows something about pickleball a few bucks to be a consultant.
· My rear license plate frame says, “Let’s Go Mets” on it. I am sure some drivers behind me have had some good laughs this season.
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