North Vancouver sisters are among the country's top pickleball players

Two sisters from North Vancouver are among Canada's top pickleball players.

Angie and Alex Walker were both drafted in the inaugural Canadian National Pickleball League — Angie was the top pick and Alex was picked eighth.

The siblings started playing tennis when they were toddlers.

"From probably three to four years old, we were hitting balloons around the living room, playing tennis in some form,” said Angie.

Having spent their adolescence competing in tennis, their goal was always to play tennis in college.

But after they had achieved that goal, they soon missed competing in sports and spent their time coaching.

"That (competition) comes to an abrupt stop. You’re no longer a college athlete and what? What else is there out there for us? The next challenge was becoming a professional pickleball player,” said Angie.

In 2020, the two started playing pickleball and quickly fell in love with the sport.

"I think being an athlete has been something that I’ve been my whole life and I love competing and so pickleball has given me a new challenge, a new sport, to kind of dive into,” said Angie.

Their tennis skills came in handy as they made the transition to pickleball and into the Canadian National Pickleball League.

"I was so excited that l guess the hard work and the dedication I put into this … people are noticing," said Angie, reflecting on her status as the league's top draft pick. "It paid off."

While they love the success they've achieved in the sport, the sisters said they don’t enjoy competing against each other.

"We don’t like playing against each other, but if we do play against each other, it means that we both did well,” said Alex.

The two are competing in the national championship this weekend in Toronto.

“It doesn’t matter win or lose, we’re excited to be here. We're excited to play, but we want to win. We’re both very competitive,” said Alex.

So, what's next for the sisters?

The two moved to Arizona to pursue pickleball professionally.

“It’s really amazing. I think both of us feel the same way. We get to wake up every day and train pickleball, play pickleball, travel to tournaments,” said Angie. “We just get to do something that we’re so passionate about and say that it’s our job."