Mia Esteban aims to make impact in pickleball

MANILA, Philippines – Mia Esteban is hoping to follow the footsteps of her sister, Paris Olympic-bound fencer Maxine Esteban, and carve a name for herself albeit in an entirely different sport.

Coming from a family of athletes, it’s only natural for Mia to search and find a sport that she feels fits her well and comfortable at. 

While she played volleyball in the college ranks and also competed as a fencer like her sister, the younger Esteban found love in one of the c fastest growing sports in the country — the pickleball.

A paddle sport that has combined the elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis, the pickleball, which started as a leisure sport for Esteban, became a sport that she wanted to compete in and be known for.

“I took up pickleball recreationally at first because I wanted to be able to play a sport wherein I can also encourage my mother to stay fit and workout with me, and I wanted to have a sport that both me and my boyfriend could play together,” shared the 23-year-old Esteban, a cum laude graduate of Management Engineering at Ateneo last year.

Esteban was actually starting to make a name for herself around the pickleball circuit and even got a sponsorship deal with Joola, a renowned US-based paddle brand for pickleball and table tennis.

“It feels absolutely unreal to even have had this opportunity to be sponsored by Joola to train under them and Javaj Academy and one day compete representing them,” she said.

“I’m not exactly sure why they chose me out of all of the capable pickleball athletes out there but I was told it was because of my ability to learn quickly, my teachability and the potential they saw in me to become a professional athlete,” she added.

Of course, those abilities certainly run in the blood of Esteban with her older sister, Maxine, now representing Ivory Coast, did almost everything, battling odds to finally fulfill her cherished dream of playing in the Olympics.

While admittedly having to reach the expectations that comes with being a sister of an Olympic-caliber athlete, Mia is using her that as an inspiration to also strive and become the best version of herself someday.

But don’t get Mia wrong. There’s no sibling rivalry between them.

“To be a sister of an Olympian is both daunting and inspiring. She is everything I can only hope to be especially in the sports arena,” she said of her sister Maxine.

“And while it is daunting to rise up and try to somehow match her, I also know firsthand that dreams happen when you put all of your heart into it.”

With her steely resolve, it’s not surprising if someday Mia Esteban would also be representing the country in international tournaments.