She picked up a paddle in August 2022. By the next season she was a touring pro, and within two years a Premier-tier draft pick in Major League Pickleball — one of the rare women who dominates the left side, armed with a backhand flick that still turns heads in the women's game.
Career totals per PickleWave, as of June 2026.
Mariana "Mari" Humberg was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and grew up bouncing between Brazil and a string of U.S. cities before settling stateside for college in 2014.
Her first racquet sport was tennis, and she took it seriously early — competing from age nine in national and international junior events across four continents. That junior circuit eventually earned her a full athletic scholarship to Winthrop University in South Carolina. She transferred for her junior year and finished her collegiate tennis career at the University of Louisville.
Off the court, she was building an entirely different résumé. She graduated from Louisville in 2018 with a degree in Economics and a marketing minor, then added a Master's in Business Analytics in 2020. She climbed the ladder at a Louisville ad-tech firm, ElToro.com, all the way to VP of Ad Operations — before stepping back to a part-time consulting role to chase pickleball full time. Portuguese is her first language; she's also fluent in English and Spanish.
"I used to slice a lot when I played tennis. It just stuck with me… it's more productive than people think, so I've stuck with it."
— Mari Humberg, Pickleball.com interviewHumberg discovered pickleball at the end of August 2022 and, by her own account, "hasn't looked back since." Her spin-heavy tennis foundation transferred almost immediately. She entered her first professional tournament that same December — roughly four months after stepping on a pickleball court for the first time.
She spent 2023 grinding through APP events while still working her full-time ad-tech job, stacking women's doubles medals with partners like Allison Harris and Tammy Emmrich, and grabbing a gold in Women's Split-Age Doubles with Sheri Courter at the 2023 US Open. In 2024 she went all-in on pickleball — and the rankings responded.
Over the course of the 2024 season, Humberg rose from roughly No. 78 in women's doubles to inside the top 20, finishing the year ranked around No. 19 — one of the fastest ascents in the women's field that season.
Here's what makes Humberg genuinely unusual in the women's game: she's a right-handed player who has built her identity around dominating the left side of the court.
The left side (the ad court for tennis converts) is where the backhand lives, and it's where most of the speed-up offense gets generated in modern doubles. The catch is that the women's field is heavily right-side dominant — there simply aren't enough left-side specialists to go around, which makes a reliable lefty a sought-after commodity when partners are matched up.
Her signature weapon is the backhand flick — a compact, deceptive roll off the backhand wing that's become common in men's doubles (think JW Johnson, AJ Koller) but is still relatively rare on the women's side. She traces it back to all the reaching-in she did as a beginner; one thing led to another and it became the shot she's known for. Pair that with the heavy slice she carried over from tennis, and you get a player who manipulates spin and tempo rather than relying on raw pace.
"Humberg is better at her best; Smith is more consistent. Both are the rare women who are better on the left."
— Year-end women's doubles rankings analysis, Pickleball.comHumberg's MLP arc has tracked her rise neatly. She went 33rd overall in the 2024 Premier Season draft, landing on the New Jersey 5s — the same roster as world No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters, who reportedly asked for her to be picked. That team delivered her biggest team hardware to date: a Mid-Season Tournament championship and a runner-up finish in the Premier Playoffs.
For 2026 she moved to the Chicago Slice, slotting into a roster built around Hunter Johnson, Zane Navratil, Jamie Wei, Jalina Ingram and AJ Koller. She's also leaned into the city's identity off the court — the deep-dish-loving, "I'm here for the pizza, not the toppings" energy fits a player who's become one of the more personable faces in the women's pro ranks.
A snapshot of the podium finishes that built her reputation across the APP, PPA and US Open circuits. (Her own medal log runs deeper; these are highlights.)
Begins competitive tennis; eventually plays junior events on four continents.
College tennis at Winthrop, then Louisville; graduates with an Economics degree.
Completes a Master's in Business Analytics; rises to VP of Ad Operations at ElToro.com.
Picks up pickleball for the first time.
Plays her first professional tournament.
Stacks APP medals while still working full time; gold at the US Open in split-age doubles.
Goes full-time pro; climbs from ~No. 78 to ~No. 19 in women's doubles. Drafted 33rd overall to the New Jersey 5s in MLP.
Signs with adidas Pickleball — a brand she'd worn back in her college tennis days.
Joins the Chicago Slice for the MLP season; hovers around the top-18 of the women's doubles field.
Humberg joined the adidas Pickleball roster in January 2025, calling it a full-circle moment after wearing the brand during her tennis career. She's part of an adidas lineup that also includes Rafa Hewett, Ava Cavataio, John Cincola and CJ Klinger.
Note: some tour databases still list an older adidas Metalbone model for Humberg, but her current gamer — confirmed by adidas spec breakdowns and her own partnerships page — is the Adipower Pro EDT 16mm.
Humberg has become one of the more visible ambassadors for pickleball's global growth, with a particular focus on her home country. She produces Portuguese-language instructional content, runs clinics in Brazil when she's home, and has started training Brazilian coaches so the sport can scale there. An Olympic appearance for Brazil is, in her words, a "childhood dream."
She co-hosts the 99 Pickleball podcast, runs her own clinics and boot camps ("Pickle With Mari"), and keeps an active teaching presence out of Louisville, Kentucky — notable in itself, given that the pro game's gravity usually pulls toward Florida, Texas and Southern California rather than the Bluegrass State. Ask her for a career bucket-list moment and the answer is characteristically competitive: beat Ben Johns. As she put it — laughing — "that would be an accomplishment to remember."
And yes, the family is full of dog people. The Humbergs are, by her own description, "big Schnauzer people."
Every factual claim above was cross-checked against the following. Where databases conflicted (paddle model, residence, exact age), her own site and the most recent primary reporting were treated as authoritative.