Fourteen-year-old Madalena Flores was born with a competitive spirit.
In her young life, she’s won championships in martial arts, tennis and, more recently, pickleball.
She is an athlete on the rise in a paddle sport that is appealing more and more to the younger generation.
Last month at a Professional Pickleball Association Junior Tour event in Mesa, Ariz., Flores earned the distinction of achieving a tournament triple crown — winning titles in three disciplines: singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
She continued her winning ways at the next PPA Tournament in Las Vegas, claiming the gold medal in U18 mixed doubles and earning a bronze in the women’s open 5.0 skill level for ages 8-34. Her lone loss came in the semifinals against a team that included her pro doubles partner, Bryanna Ojeda, of Carpinteria.
She and Ojeda recently won a cash prize for winning the pro women’s doubles title at the iPickle Summer Slam Series Fall Classic in La Habra.
On a break from tournaments, Flores is spending part of her free time giving back to her sport. She’s running an eight-week clinic for local pickleball-playing youngsters at The Grove indoor facility in Goleta.
Madalena wasn’t sure about playing pickleball when invited to try the sport three years ago. She was fully invested in tennis at the time and trained with her dad, who played the sport at Santa Barbara High.
“We’re like, ‘Maybe … not. We want to go pro in tennis,’” she told Noozhawk in an interview before her first day of coaching at the clinic. “Then we’re like, ‘Let’s just try it out. Why not? It’d be super fun.’”
It was so much fun that she couldn’t stop playing.
“I think I ended up playing for like four hours the first day and then I’m like, ‘I want to go the next day… I want to go the next day.’ I was playing like four hours a day. Eventually, I never picked up a tennis racket again. I just wanted to get better in pickleball. Now I want to be pro.”
Madalena’s introduction to the sport happened in Redding, where she was born. Her parents Jaime and Tina Flores own a ranch there, and it’s where they raised three daughters: Isabel, Sophia and Madalena.
But they have ties to the Santa Barbara area.
Jaime Flores grew up in Santa Barbara and graduated from Santa Barbara High in 1984. He said his family owned several businesses in town, including several convalescent homes and a restaurant called the Sherman House, which they sold and later became Chad’s on Chapala Street. It closed in 2008. Tina (née Brown) is a graduate of Dos Pueblos. The couple own property in town.
Madalena is the youngest of Jaime and Tina’s children. She’s been active in sports since the age of 3, following her sisters into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The older sisters excelled in the martial art, winning several national and international tournament gold medals. Madalena was on a similar path.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Madalena’s sporting life changed.
At 7, she turned to tennis and excelled in the sport before catching the pickleball bug. Her dad joined her and has guided her on the journey.
“My dad’s been my coach since jiu-jitsu and tennis,” she said. “He’s been my coach for everything — helps me with schooling… he’s like my accountant. He does everything.”
They worked on her paddle skills and footwork, watched videos of pro matches and played recreational open-play games for a year before entering the tournament circuit.
“I didn’t do much (in terms of) lessons other than this one guy, but not that many,” she said of her start in the sport. “It was more of just me and my dad. We wanted to observe the pros, and we wanted to copy basically what they’re doing because that’s how you get better. So I didn’t do tournaments until a year later, and now I do tournaments like twice a month.”
Madalena is homeschooled, so she can devote more time to training to reach her goal of becoming a high-ranking pro player. She’s highly motivated and trains two-and-a-half hours a day.
Jaime said her rapid rise in tennis and now pickleball is due to her determination, discipline and strong work ethic to get better.
“It blew me away because her work ethic is very good. She was picking it up extremely quick to the point where she was beating a lot of the top (tennis) players up north and the older kids that were on tennis teams.”
In PPA Junior Tour events this year, she is playing above her age group and winning. After the Las Vegas tournament, she’s ranked No. 3 in 18U singles, ninth in 18U mixed doubles, fourth in 16U mixed doubles and 23rd in 16U doubles.
Last year, she finished No. 1 in the 14U age group in all three disciplines. In addition, she was presented with the PPA Sportsmanship Award, an honor that recognizes not only a person’s athletic achievements but also the character and leadership they bring to the game, said the PPA.
“Madalena Flores is one of the top-ranked girls on the Junior PPA Tour,” said tour director Jake Weinbach in an email to Noozhawk. “She is talented, enthusiastic, and driven, but her character and demeanor truly make her stand out. Madalena is always respectful, humble, and honest when competing at tournaments. It’s been incredible to track her growth on the court over the years, but her joyfulness and positive energy off the court have been an outstanding addition to the Junior PPA community.”
Her next big tournament is the PPA World Championships in Dallas, Nov. 2-8.
Madalena said there are two different aspects to why she loves pickleball.
“There’s when you’re on the court, it’s very aggressive and it’s super quick, and I love when my adrenaline is really going and you’re in the heat of the battle. I especially love women’s doubles because everybody stands so far behind the (non-volley zone/kitchen) line, so it’s all going super quick, and the handouts are all so extended. I just love the adrenaline. Off the court, everybody’s really nice — like you kill each other on the court, but when you get off, you’re all basically friends. It’s a great community on and off the court, for sure.”
The local community has embraced her. Whether it’s at the public courts or at The Grove, she draws a crowd, and people want to play with her.
Nan Schooley, a coach at The Grove, told Madalena in an Instagram message: “Such a joy watching Madalena train with her Dad, and the support of her mother! I am loving getting to know this sweet and fierce young woman!!! And … getting my butt kicked by her!”
Madalena appreciates her dad and brother-in-law Tianan Dalpra for helping her stay focused and mentally tough. Dalpra is married to her sister, Sophia, and is a five-time world champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
“[Tianan] is world famous,” said Madalena. “He’s a great inspiration. He works so hard for everything, like he doesn’t slack. We have a joint mindset.”
She also credits pro partner Ojeda and top pickleball professional Anna Bright, who is the No. 2-ranked woman in the world behind Anna Leigh Waters.
“She’s really nice,” said Madalena of Bright. “She’s encouraged me a lot. She’s a big inspiration for me.”
Madalena has set a high bar for herself as a professional pickleball player. She wants to surpass Waters’ record for tournament triple crowns, which is currently at an astounding 45.
“I’m hoping to get a triple crown over Anna Leigh, so it’ll be like a big ’ol triple crown,” she said. “So we’ll see if I can get there. I really want to. I’m just gonna keep working hard and see where this takes me. Hopefully, I do get there. I think I can make it.”
