Photo credit: PPA Australia
At 22 years old, Australia’s Danni-Elle Townsend has quickly emerged as one of the rising stars in pickleball. Born and raised between Cabarita Beach, New South Wales and Currumbin Waters, Queensland, Townsend transitioned from a table tennis background into professional pickleball, where she now competes across Australia and Asia. This year, she has her sights set on the States. Major League Pickleball, and the PPA Tour.
Can you briefly introduce yourself? What you do, where you’re from, etc?
Rightio, I’m Danni-Elle Townsend, a 22 year old full time pickleball player. I was born and raised on the south east coast, between Cabarita Beach, NSW and Currumbin Waters, QLD.
How did you get involved in the pickleball scene?
I come from a pretty interesting sports family. My mum and dad both played high level table tennis, meaning my brothers and I grew up with bats in our hands. I played table tennis for 20 years of my life, spending a lot of that time representing Australia at many events as both a junior and senior player.
My mum and step dad picked up this strange new sport and were pretty hooked, so my brothers and I went and tried it out. It was a bit of fun, but I wasn’t sold straight away. It took me some time, but I realized how much more my personality enjoyed the sport, the people, and the competition. Now I can’t see myself doing anything else.
You’ve got a pretty full slate of pickleball commitments. How do you divide your time between the States and Australia?
So far I’ve been playing mostly across Asia and Australia. Now I’m setting my eyes on MLP and PPA in the States to reach my goals in pickleball.
I’ll be spending an amount of time in the States for the MLP season and, during the break, playing in Asia. Once I’ve finished that, I’ll be playing a lot in Australia again. That way I have time to get used to time zones and all that jazz. I also just pass out on planes and can sleep through most of the flight.
Do you have any highlights that stand out in your career or just in pickleball generally?
I’d have to say my most memorable moments aren’t the biggest wins. They are the matches that helped me get where I am and build my character.
A lot of my favourite moments aren’t the ones where I was feeling my best, but the ones that felt like big stepping stones in my pickleball journey.
Anything you’d like to add? Any shout outs?
I would love to give a massive shout out to some of the people who have impacted my pickleball journey the most. Starting with my coach, Ben Costin. He really took me on and saw something where a lot of people didn’t. I definitely wasn’t the most talented, but he saw something. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for him.
Also Sahra. We’ve worked so much together, and I think it’s great how far we have come. I couldn’t be more thankful to have someone like her to do all of this with.
I’d also like to say a big thanks to my two major sponsors and biggest support systems, CRBN and APEX Academy, for helping me get to these tournaments and making everything that little bit easier so I can focus on being the best athlete I can be.
Lastly, my great partner Jade, for believing in me, supporting me, and having my back through all of it. Telling me to chase my goals and being my backbone through all of the challenges and chaos of the pickleball world.