Ryan Sherry was set to play his round of 64 singles match-up against AJ Koller at 10:45am CT on Tuesday morning in Dallas at the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships. Unfortunately, Sherry defaulted the match, sending Koller into the round of 32.

Sherry is known for his colorful lifestyle and his advocacy for “time zone training” — staying awake for 71 hours in order to adjust to a new time zone and sleep more soundly the night before playing a pro bracket.

Both before, after, and sometimes during pickleball tournaments, Sherry can be found spending late nights out on the town, carousing, chartering party buses, and picking up girls.

Don’t let the party animal reputation deceive you, though — Ryan Sherry took a PPA title at the North Carolina Open back in 2022 and also logged a runner-up finish against Ben Johns later that year.

It was after earning himself a slot in the finals (where he would go on to win his first PPA gold medal) that Ryan Sherry gave his first iconic post-match interview with Hannah Johns.

 

 

 

 

 

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Flash forward (or rather, backwards) to Monday evening, when Sherry found himself craving Bluebell ice cream. He bought three tubs of ice cream at his hotel – cookies and cream, cookie dough, and mint chocolate chip – and invited a number of tournament team members and players to the lobby to help him consume it, including Genie Bouchard.

No late nights on Monday — Sherry insists he went to bed at 9:30pm that night. However, instead of waking up in plenty of time, getting a stretch and a warmup, Sherry slept through his call time and his entire round of 64 match-up. 

“I woke up at like 6:30am originally,” Sherry said. “Answered some texts and emails, but must have still been in an ice cream coma, because I just closed my eyes for a second, and next thing I knew, it was 10:45am and I had all these missed calls and texts from Ireland [PPA Tour staff member] and Genie [fellow pro player].”

“I woke up that morning with 0 texts or responses from Ryan, which is unusual,” said Bouchard. “So I knew something was up.Then I finally got a call from him, where he told me the terrible news that he overslept. I was sad for him, but not surprised. However, I was happy it was due to ice cream and not any other reason.”

Per PPA Tour pro player guidelines, Sherry was fined an undisclosed amount for his failure to show without a permissible excuse. He blames the ice cream.

“The PPA Tour has been a blessing to so many of us, paying us pros a great amount of money to play the game that we love. I accept full responsibility and won’t appeal the fine. I just wish it would of been for a wild night out or for the sake of a few ladies staying over, rather than ice cream. I guess ice cream is my new kryptonite.”

Sherry was also set to play a men’s doubles match with Yates Johnson on Tuesday evening at around 7:00pm CT. Word is, he made it to this one in a more timely manner.

That being said, I feel like this guy’s devotion to dairy should earn him a sponsorship — what do you say, Bluebell?!