KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Have a story idea to share with Tod? Send him an e-mail.
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He’s won Grand Slam titles in London and New York and Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro as a globe-trotting tennis star, but Jack Sock still considers Kansas City home.
“It was a little, almost a little emotional coming back yesterday, because I don't get to come back all that often and Kansas City will forever be my favorite place,” Sock said. “I love it here. So yeah, I’m just stoked to be around and be around for a while.”
Sock now lives in Charlotte with his wife, Laura, and their 9-month-old son, Brody.
He’s in town for two professional pickleball events at his old training ground, Elite Tennis and Wellness, during the next week.
“We've been talking about this weekend since the Hustlers got put together and we realized we're playing in Kansas City,” Sock said.
Born in Omaha, Sock moved to Kansas City with his older brother, Eric, and mom, Pam, when he was 10 years old to train at the Mike Wolf Tennis Academy, which is based at Elite Tennis and Wellness.
He attended Blue Valley North High School, where he went 80-0 and won four Class 6A state singles titles as a prep tennis player — the last time he was allowed to simply be a kid playing a game he loved.
“It was an amazing four years for me,” Sock said. “I loved having the normalcy of being at school. I was going from 7:45 to 2 o'clock every day like everyone else.”
He’d train after school for several hours en route to winning a junior U.S. Open title and worked toward a pro tennis career.
“Back then, that's when you come out here with no no worries, no stress, not having to pay bills or live up to expectations, all those sorts of things,” Sock said.
He retired from professional tennis a year ago, having won two U.S. Open and two Wimbledon titles in doubles events. He also won gold in mixed doubles and bronze in men’s doubles at the 2016 Olympics.
“For me, Olympic gold was up there with everything else. I love the USA,” Sock said, gesturing to his USA hat. “I loved representing the country any chance we had. I think that Opening Ceremony walk, experiencing that then standing on a podium hearing the national anthem is forever one of the greatest moments for me.”
Sock won gold with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and bronze with Steve Johnson in Rio.
His only mixed-doubles Grand Slam title came at the 2011 U.S. Open partnered with Melanie Oudin.
Sock won three men’s doubles Grand Slam titles — partnered with Vasek Pospisil at Wimbledon in 2014 and alongside Mike Bryan at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2018.
Pivoting to pickleball, Sock plays for the New York Hustlers in Major League Pickleball, which makes its Kansas City debut with a three-day tournament Saturday through Monday at Elite Tennis and Wellness.
Sock also will play in the Pro Pickleball Association’s Selkirk Kansas City Open, which takes place Aug. 7-11 at Elite.
“I hope it's electric,” Sock said. "I hope it's loud and rowdy and people are served too many and they get into it. That's MLP — it's loud and it's fun. ... Being here in Kansas City, I hope it's sold out and I hope people go crazy.”
Tickets are still available for this weekend’s Major League Pickleball event and next week’s Pro Pickleball Association event. Use the code “Elite 25” at checkout for a 25% discount on your tickets.
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