Christian Keenum
Team ONIX professional pickleball player, Christian Keenum, gives us insight on how he got started with pickleball, what is means to him, and so much more. Read all about Christian Keenum and his accomplishments as an ONIX Pickleball Professional below.
Christian Keenum, Team ONIX Professional Player, is from Silver Spring, Maryland, and has been playing pickleball now for two years. His parents began playing pickleball in the 1980s near Bainbridge Island in Washington state – the birthplace of the sport. His family had a pickleball court as he was growing up, but he admits they did not play the game properly and mostly converted it to a basketball court when it was used. Keenum explains that during the Covid-19 pandemic was when he seriously picked up the game of pickleball.
“I found a group of friends at a local indoor tennis facility in March of 2021 that played competitively. I always wanted to play with them, but I wasn't quite at their level yet, which made me work even harder. Five months later, I began competing and winning matches at the pro level on the PPA Tour and APP Tour,” Keenum states.
On top of Keenum’s pickleball lifestyle, he also maintains a full-time job with Meta in Manhattan where he advises and manages strategic retail relationships. Helping people optimize their marketing strategies and deliver optimal performance on their marketing investments.
When asked why he enjoys playing pickleball, Keenum explained that he enjoys it as it has “given me new life and an opportunity to compete again. When I graduated from Georgetown University after four years as Head Manager of the Men's Basketball team and member of Club Tennis team, I thought my days of competing athletically were over.” He goes on to explain that pickleball has allowed him to continue competing at the highest level and has given him the opportunity to travel across the country and make all sorts of new connections.
Keenum currently plays with the 12mm and 14mm Raw Carbon Paddles from ONIX. He loves this new line of paddles because they have added more power and spin to his pickleball game.
We are so happy to have Christian Keenum as a part of Team ONIX! You can learn more about our Professional Pickleball players at the link here. You can also check out all of our pickleball products on our ONIX website here. We are extremely thankful for all of our pro pickleball athletes and we could not do this without them. Keep an eye out for Christian as he travels the country playing pickleball professionally.
Christian Keenum's Pickleball Career Accolades:
- 4-time US Open Medalist
- 2-time Bronze Medals at the Pro Level
