Rick Witsken (born January 1972) is a former American tennis player and pickleball player,^[1][2][3] tennis coach,^[4][5] and entrepreneur.^[6][7] He is the founder of Team Witsken and^[6][8][9] co-founder of the National Pickleball League (NPL).

He was a State Champion in Carmel High School^[10] in 1987 and 1988.^[6][11] Witsken pursued a bachelor's degree in Sports Management and Marketing from the University of Alabama.^[12] At the University of Alabama, he was an NCAA tennis player and a two-time All-American.^{[13][6][14][15]}

Witsken began his post-playing career working with his brother, Todd Witsken, at the Indianapolis Tennis Center.^[5] He was the director of tennis at Woodstock Country Club.^[6][16] He coaches Zionsville Eagle Rec and is the head coach of the Zionsville girls and Carmel boys and girls middle school teams.^[6][1][4]

After his brother died in 1998, Witsken formulated Team Witsken Tennis in 2001.^[13] It is an organization that provides professional instruction to tennis and pickleball players in Indianapolis.^[6][1][9] In 2010, Witsken represented the US in the Tony Trabert Cup in New Zealand. In 2011, he and Matt Schiller defeated Matt Allare and Steve Williams 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the men's open final of the Bernard Master Tennis Classic.^[14][15]

In 2021, he organized a 2-day match at Brickway Tennis and Pickleball Club.^[17] In 2014, Witsken started competing in pickleball tournaments professionally.^[17][18][12] Witsken founded the first public educational middle school pickleball team at Zionsville Middle School.^[18][12][19]

Witsken and his wife, Bridget Witsken, lobbied to bring a pickleball tournament to Indianapolis and secured the Indianapolis Pickleball Open, an Association of Pickleball Professionals tournament.^[20][5][17]

In 2020, Witsken brought the first-ever pro pickleball tournament, the Indy Open, to Zionsville.^[4][21] In December 2022, he established NPL with Beth Bellamy. www.USA-NPL.com^[22] In 2022, Witsken hosted the Pickleball tournament, the APP $35k Indianapolis Open, at Mt. Vernon High School in Fortville, Indiana, sponsored by Arnold Meyer Realty.^[23][24][12] In January 2023, Nike Pickleball Camps, a division of US Sports Camps, teamed up with Witsken to offer multiple camp sessions at different locations in the US.^[16][18]

Witsken is a two-time IHSAA State Singles Champion^[12] and Indiana State Champion.^[14][6][25] He received four gold medals at the US Open Pickleball Championships.^{[8][7][1][26][27][28]} In 2019, Witsken won gold in Men's Open Doubles at International Indoor Pickleball Championship.^[29] He earned gold in Pro Men's Doubles in Atlanta, Georgia^[30] and at the Association of Pickleball Professionals Sacramento Open in 2022.^[31]

He was world-ranked on the ATP Tour in both singles and doubles.^[6][8][11] Witsken is ranked #1 on the APP Senior Pro Men's Standings^[18] and Pickleball Professional in America for Pro-Seniors.^[4][19]

Witsken lives with his wife and three children in Zionsville, Indiana.^[4][14][28]