When Zane Ford Tried to Destroy His Paddle and Failed Spectacularly
Picture dedicating your entire adult life to a sport, only to find out your biggest rival is a chunk of carbon fiber. That was the day pickleball pro Zane Ford discovered his paddle could survive anything—except a loss. On June 19, 2025, at the Humana Championship Court during the Carvana PPA Tour in Phoenix, Ford squared off against James Ignatowich in a match that could generously be called “tennis-lite.”
Everything was going swimmingly for Ignatowich until Ford misfired a shot well left of the baseline. In an act of pure athletic frustration, Ford attempted to crush his paddle by smacking it on the court. When the racket refused to shatter, he escalated to a knee-drop move worthy of a WWE highlight reel—only to be rebuffed by a paddle that bent but didn’t break. It’s almost inspiring to see inanimate objects outperform a top-15 APP Men’s Pro Singles player.
The meltdown didn’t stay on the court. Ford took to Instagram to confess his sins against his “beautiful ruby” paddle, calling it “gorgeous” and “sturdy,” two adjectives rarely used in sports breakage videos. “I’m sorry for damaging such a beautiful paddle,” he said, adding that his life’s goal is to be “the best player in the world, so my emotions got the better of me that day.” He also promised to get a grip on his temper—assuming he can locate it under the rubble of bent paddles.
Of course, fans got front-row seats to the spectacle thanks to a viral clip shared by the Carvana PPA Tour’s official Twitter account (@CarvanaPPATour). Meanwhile, Ford’s apology post rallied supporters and critics alike. Some praised his accountability, while others wondered why anyone would own a paddle so sturdy it could withstand a human battering ram. Incidentally, Ford still lost the match 11-7 in the tiebreaker—humility served cold with a side of carbon fiber.
The entire saga is a masterclass in sports irony: the harder you try to destroy something, the stronger it turns out to be. Sort of like my last diet plan. We learn two things here: Zane Ford might want to rethink his anger management, and pickleball equipment manufacturers could pivot into aerospace engineering. As for Ford, he vows to channel his rage into better play rather than paddle demolition. Tune in next match to see if he sticks the landing—or if the paddle survives another round of human frustration. In the meantime, let’s pretend we learned something today about resilience—both human and composite.
There you have it. Sportsmanship, meet inanimate object that refuses to lose. Keep watching for more questionable life choices on the Carvana PPA Tour.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ.com, Carvana PPA Tour official Twitter (@CarvanaPPATour), Zane Ford Instagram
Attribution: Sye Williams (Creative Commons)
