Yubie Albert joins us for the first of two episodes to tell us about his journey from adult rec tennis player to avid pickleball player.

Yubie’s tennis story includes how he found a product while playing tennis to help with sweaty hands — which led to his career! He also tells us about how he started playing pickleball and, eventually, was such a great ambassador for the sport that he gained a sponsorship out of it.

Yubie’s Tennis Story

Yubie played tennis in college and is currently rated as a 4.5 USTA player. He has been the captain of many USTA teams. Several of his teams have gone on to state championship tournaments, sectionals, and he has led a few of his teams all the way to Nationals. Yubie also captains World Team Tennis and has also made it to the National Championship tournament with his team. With all those accomplishments and being an overall great guy, Yubie was named the North Carolina Captain of the year in 2018.  

Then He Discovered Pickleball…

In late 2019, at the urging of his mother-in-law, Yubie started playing pickleball and quickly became addicted.

Although he was an experienced tennis player, he began playing pickleball as a 3.5 rated player. His curiosity about the sport took him out to the courts to learn and practice every day. He played his first doubles tournament as a 3.5 and won a gold medal without losing any games. His second tournament, he rated himself as a 4.0 and came home with gold again.

After his first two tournaments he started playing at the 4.5 level. He moved up the rankings quickly and has played several tournaments as a 5.0 and a few tournaments at the professional level. He earned several gold and silver medals at 4.5 and, even though he hasn’t won any medals yet at the professional level, he has had some great wins.

Yubie’s Sponsorship Opportunity

Yubie used his tennis skills to perfect his pickleball game. Because of his success and knowing how passionate he was for tennis AND pickleball, he gained a sponsorship with Selkirk Sport. Selkirk is a well-known pickleball company located in Hayden, ID. Selkirk supports Yubie’s pickleball passion with paddles, gear, etc. They also support their local community by donating paddles to tournaments and has programs for schools. Yubie is extremely proud be a Selkirk athlete.

Discovery of Carpe Products

Yubie plays tennis in North Carolina. Being an adult rec tennis player and avid pickleball player means Yubie is outside a lot. Saying that it’s hot in the summertime in NC is an understatement. He was at a state tournament and googled “sweaty hands/tennis”. Yubie was looking for a product to help him avoid having his racquet slip out of his hand. That’s when he discovered Carpe. Carpe is an antiperspirant company that makes products to help stop sweating from head to toe.

As Yubie was getting ready to travel with his 4.5 men’s team to the National Tournament, he was looking for a local product to share with opponents. Yubie and several of his teammates were already using Carpe products. He noticed that Carpe was a North Carolina company, so he reached out to ask for samples to give away to other tennis players once they got to Nationals. Carpe was happy to contribute!

How Finding Carpe Led to Yubie’s Career

When the pandemic hit, Yubie lost his job. Fortunately, within two days, Yubie saw a job opening at Carpe. He loved their products, so he applied for a position and became Carpe’s Operations Manager! Something tell us this was meant to be.

In Conclusion

We really enjoyed learning about Yubie’s transition from adult rec tennis player to avid pickleball player. It’s inspiring!

Yubie currently resides in Raleigh, NC with his wife Mandy, who is also an avid tennis and pickleball player.

Yubie was on one of our earliest podcast episodes. Listen to how he worked with a local organization to make a “Racquets Down Hands Up” in solidarity with other minority tennis players to protest the killing of George Floyd.