Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios turn to pickleball at Desert Smash, popstar Jason Derulo joins them in star studded event

Former women’s world number one Naomi Osaka and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios recently featured in a charity pickleball event. Pickleball, which is the newest format in the sport, has gained popularity amongst the masses due to its easier access.

Former women’s world number one Osaka and Kyrgios recently featured in a charity pickleball event — the Desert Smash. The two were joined by pop star Jason Derulo as well. Kyrgios was quoted in a report where he spoke about how different pickleball is compared to tennis. “Pickleball is a lot different from tennis and you can already see him [his partner Derulo] at the net,” he said.

He further went on to praise the pop star’s reflexes by stating: “He has the reflexes, he knows the game, he just needs to work on his serve a little bit.” Derulo, talking after the match, accepted that he still has a lot to work on as far as his service is concerned. “You guys laughed at my serve,” he said. “That was crazy. But the best part was I was like ‘I don’t understand why they are laughing.'”

Both Osaka and Kyrgios are currently recovering from a fitness concern. Osaka’s last appearance was in the Australian Open, where she was forced to retire from a third-round clash against Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic. The final score of the match was 7-6. She is now set to return to the court at the Indian Wells, where she will face Camila Osorio in the competition's opening round.

On the other hand, Kyrgios’s last appearance was also at the Australian Open, where he was knocked out after losing in the first round to Britain’s Jacob Fearnley in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3, 7-6. After the contest, Kyrgios admitted that this might be his last appearance in the singles category at the Australian Open.