Santa Barbara Open Pickleball Tournament: Chef Alejandro Magos from San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, won the top men’s singles title at the first-ever Santa Barbara Open pickleball tournament. The event was held Saturday at Dynamite Pickleball, located at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara, California.
Magos Wins First Career Title
Alejandro Magos defeated Santa Barbara player Niklas Moe 13-2 in the final match. It was Magos’s first singles title in a tournament. His performance was strong from start to finish.
Richard Pastoria, also from Santa Barbara, earned the bronze medal after beating Carlos Gonzales. Magos, 44, owns a restaurant in Baja California called Baja Wok and works as a private chef. He began playing pickleball through a client who shares his love for the game.
“He’s actually my sponsor for all the tournaments. He’s paid for all my tournaments because he likes pickleball, too. I want to thank David for making this happen,”( Alejandro Magos).
From Tennis to Pickleball
Before turning to pickleball, Alejandro Magos was a top-level tennis player in Mexico. He said this helped him learn the new sport quickly.
“I came from tennis, so the footwork was kind of easy for me,” ( Alejandro Magos).
During pool play, Magos faced a close match against 60-year-old Richard Pastoria. Magos won by just one point, 13-12.
“That was a fun match,”. “That’s what we do this for, you know? The medals are fine, but it’s fun to get out there and play like that.”(Richard Pastoria)
Pastoria Reflects on His Pickleball Start
Richard Pastoria is a long-time tennis player and coach in Santa Barbara. He first learned about pickleball in 2018 when the city tennis director asked him to help teach it.
“I didn’t even know what it was,”. “The director of tennis said, ‘Go out and check the pickleball courts because we can’t get anybody to teach pickleball.’
I said, ‘Well, I’ve never heard of it but I’m happy to.’ After I went and saw that there were like 110 people down there and I had two people on my tennis court, I came back and said, ‘I’m your guy.’”(Richard Pastoria)
Pastoria quickly became a sought-after coach. He got certified by Sarah Ansboury, who was once ranked No. 1 in the world.
“I got certified by a pro named Sarah Ansboury who at the time was the No. 1 player in the world,”. “Back in 2018, it was not like it is now. The pros weren’t making much money on the tour so they had to do other things. I lucked out in 2018 that she was accessible.”(Richard Pastoria)
A Growing Sport in Santa Barbara
Pastoria said pickleball’s growth has been fast and exciting.
“First of all, I’ve never seen a sport explode like this in my life, and I’ve been playing sports since I was little,”. “It’s just incredible. As soon as Dynamite opened this facility, it opened so many doors for people to play in leagues, clinics and competitions like this. It’s an outlet we simply didn’t have.
If you wanted to play a tournament, you had to go elsewhere out of town. I think this is the third or fourth one of these I’ve done here, and (owners) Dave and Tracy (Wilcox) run them beautifully. It’s always fun.”(Richard Pastoria)
News in Brief: Santa Barbara Open Pickleball Tournament
Alejandro Magos won the top men’s singles title at the first Santa Barbara Open pickleball tournament, held at Dynamite Pickleball. Richard Pastoria took bronze and shared his journey from tennis to pickleball. The sport continues to grow quickly in Santa Barbara, with new courts and events drawing strong local support.