LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Alex Crum was a highly ranked junior tennis player and one of the top players on St. Xavier High School teams that won three state titles.

A serious wrist injury derailed his tennis in college but now, in his early 30's, he is making a name for himself in professional pickleball. 

He said the game felt very natural from the first time he really started playing a little under two years ago. 

"I was able to beat somebody in the top 50 in the world with little to no practice so that gave me the confidence to throw my hat in the arena so to speak," Crum said.

He's been working full-time as a tennis teacher in Florida, East Hampton and Maine so he's been able to work in about a dozen tournaments. He is now looking to ramp that up to 20-25 tournaments per year to see what he can do when he has the time to compete and train frequently. 

He has already proven to be a force playing just part-time. Crum beat the No. 1 ranked players on two different tours in a five-day span last month. 

"It's changed things in a lot of ways," Crum said. "Not internally or anything. I always knew I was capable. But those couple of victories have now presented me with an opportunity to pursue pickleball full time which was my goal coming into the summer."

It has also raised his profile on social media, which is leading to more interest in his other passion, music.

Crum has been rapping for much of his life. He recently dropped a video shot at the Louisville Zoo for the song "Anna Bright," named after a top female pickleball player. 

"You can write the best song of all-time but if nobody hears it who cares, right," said Crum. "Now that I have a little more of a platform, I was planning on recording music this summer anyway before any of this happened, but now I have a few more eyeballs on me, I might as well." 

Crum said the song has already gotten over 250,000 views, so yes, he has a few more eyeballs on him now. Along with his music, Crum also co-hosts a pickleball podcast. 

His goal is to be No. 1 in the world, which doesn't seem all that crazy. 

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