Owensboro’s Altaf Merchant has added world champion to his growing list of top-level accolades as a professional pickleball player.
On Friday, Merchant claimed the top prize in his division of the 2024 Lapiplasty World Championships in Dallas, Texas, an event that included approximately 3,500 players competing in various events.
Merchant won the Senior Pro Doubles title with partner Steve Deakin of Canada. They beat the duo of Dave Weinbach (often Merchant’s partner in U.S. events) and Patrick Cote by a final score of 11-9, 11-6.
“It was great to win the world championships since I have won multiple U.S. Open and national titles,” Merchant said. “This was the first time they held a world championship. Owensboro has such a fantastic pickleball community and I am pumped to bring home a world championship to the city.”
Merchant has proven to be one of the top pickleball players worldwide in his age division. Last year, he went 59-0 and capped the season off with a gold medal performance at the USA National Championships.
Earlier this year, Merchant and his wife Ashley brought home a pair of gold medals and three silvers from the Minto U.S. Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida. The husband-and-wife duo each won a gold medal with their respective doubles partners in the Senior Pro division and the Mixed Age 35-39 division.
