The Making of a Pickleball Pro: Mircea Morariu’s Journey to the Top
How a tennis and squash player found a new passion in pickleball and rose to become one of the sport's top competitors
Tim Ringgold, host of the Pickleball Recovery Podcast, sat down with senior professional pickleball player Mircea Morariu to discuss his introduction to the sport and journey to becoming one of the top competitors on the pro tour.
The interview took place at the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Cincinnati Open, providing insight into Morariu's background and approach to training, nutrition and recovery as a pro player. Known for his fitness, Morariu shares principles and practices he's learned over decades of competitive racket sports.
2:06 Mircea Morariu's Introduction
Morariu started playing pickleball about 3 and a half years ago after a long career in tennis and squash. He walked into the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Florida and met some welcoming players, including Julie Johnson and her son JW, beginning his journey in the sport. Morariu said, "Pickleball obviously the easiest transition from other racket and paddle sports." After connecting with the Johnsons, Morariu asked Julie to partner with him in a local tournament shortly after, and they've been playing together since.
3:22 What Got You Hooked
For Morariu, seeing the Johnson family so immersed in pickleball inspired him to dive deeper into the sport himself. "It's been a great journey so far," he said. Beyond natural talent, Morariu discussed the importance of fitness in racket sports, sharing how he saw many of his squash partners get injured from lack of fitness. This motivated him to stay active and healthy as he took on pickleball later in life. The community around pickleball also drew him in. As Morariu put it, "the pickleball community is so welcoming, as we all know."
6:13 The Basics
When asked about his approach to staying fit over decades as a competitive racket sport player, Morariu emphasized that it starts with a lifestyle mindset and ingraining healthy habits. "You have to find something you enjoy and can stick with long-term," he advised. For him, squash and now pickleball tick those boxes. Beyond just exercise for the sake of it, he encourages finding activities you look forward to doing regularly. The health benefits will follow.
8:15 Find Something You Enjoy
Morariu expanded on the importance of enjoyment as the foundation for sustainability in one's fitness routine. "If you're not enjoying something, it's work. When you're enjoying it, it's play," he said. Morariu cautioned against short-lived diets and exercise programs people can't sustain long-term. "There's no consistency, there's no results," in that approach, he said. Instead, work in healthy nutrition and regular activity you actually like.
9:52 Work vs Play
The professional pickleball player admitted he's had to learn not to be "a workaholic" throughout his medical career. He said it took him time to find more balance between work and play. While Morariu still considers himself a hard worker, he's made pickleball and staying active a fun, regular part of his lifestyle. "Now I have much more balance in my life," he said.
11:36 Injury
Remarkably, Morariu shared he's stayed relatively injury free over decades of competitive racket sports. A torn plantar fascia while playing squash 15 years prior was one of his only major injuries. After transitioning to pickleball, he had a minor calf muscle tear but was able to recover and get back on the court within months. He credits cross-training, hydration, nutrition and smart training for staying healthy.
13:32 Core
For Morariu, core strength is a major key to longevity in racket sports. He focuses on core throughout his workouts, not just at the end. "Many muscles in your core, not just abs," he emphasized. Morariu does planks, hanging leg raises, medicine ball workouts and more using weights, resistance bands and other tools to hit the core from every angle. Keeping the body guessing prevents imbalances and overuse injuries.
14:35 Spine Health
As a neurologist, Morariu has seen the prevalence of back pain and spine issues firsthand. "Developing front and side core muscles helps support your structure," he explained. Many people forget core strength lifts up the entire core, reducing pressure on the back. Morariu credits his diligent core routine for maintaining back health over decades of racket sports.
17:25 Tips and Tricks
When asked for any other tips, Morariu immediately brought up hydration. Since having a kidney stone as a teenager, he's committed to drinking water consistently throughout the day. "It's a habit that's maintained my health and limited injuries," he said. He also uses compression gear like NormaTec boots during and after matches and incorporates newer modalities like cryotherapy and red light therapy in his training.
Summary
Through decades of competitive tennis, squash and now professional pickleball, Mircea Morariu has maintained an active lifestyle and injury-free career. He credits smart training focused on core strength, finding enjoyment in his fitness routine, proper hydration and newer recovery modalities like compression gear. Morariu's journey shows that with consistency, healthy habits and passion for your sport, longevity and success are possible in pickleball.
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On the Pickleball Recovery Podcast with host Tim Ringgold, senior professional pickleball player and physician Mircea Morariu, he emphasized developing proper lifestyle habits and mindsets related to health and fitness. With experience in tennis and squash, he understands the importance of fitness for performance and injury prevention.
He developed a close relationship with the Johnson family through pickleball and now coaches their talented kids.
As a neurologist, Mircea understands the cognitive benefits of exercise as well. He focuses on core strength and stability to prevent back injuries, which are very common.
While Mircea suffered minor injuries like a torn plantar fascia and calf strain, he takes an active approach to recovery using modalities like compression, ice baths, and red light therapy.
He developed lifelong hydration habits after dealing with a kidney stone as a teenager, which provides health and performance benefits.
Overall, Mircea focuses on finding enjoyable activities, developing sustainable habits, maintaining proper nutrition and sleep, and utilizing an array of training techniques for a balanced, healthy lifestyle. His experience and holistic approach provide valuable insights for long-term health, fitness and pickleball performance.
A summary of the key points from the conversation with Mircea Morariu:
Has a background in tennis and squash, which emphasized fitness and movement. Found pickleball through the local community.
Developed a close relationship with the Johnson family, now coaches their kids. Sees a lot of potential in their talent.
Emphasizes having the proper mindset and habits around exercise and nutrition. Finding enjoyable activities you can stick with long-term.
As a neurologist, understands the cognitive and health benefits of exercise. Focus on basics like nutrition, hydration, sleep.
Had minor injuries like a torn plantar fascia and calf strain. Works on full-body strength with an emphasis on core stability. Varies his workouts to target muscles from different angles.
Discusses the importance of core strength for spine health, since low back pain is very common. Works core throughout his full-body workouts.
Developed lifelong hydration habits after dealing with a kidney stone as a teenager. Carries water constantly. Understands benefits for energy, recovery, health.
Uses newer modalities like compression, ice baths, and red light therapy for recovery. Compression helps with tournaments.
Emphasizes finding a balanced lifestyle. As a physician tended to overwork, affecting sleep. Now focuses more on enjoyment and health.
Overall focuses on developing sustainable habits over the long-term related to exercise, nutrition, sleep, and injury prevention. Lifestyle and mindset are key.
[00:27 - 00:53] Mircea is introduced and discusses how he started playing pickleball after a background in tennis and squash.
"I was playing grew up playing tennis played tennis in college and played some satellite afterward and then started Medical School So eventually found squash and paid squash for almost 30 years roughly."
[01:09 - 01:23] Mircea talks about how he met and started playing pickleball with the Johnson family early on.
"Happened to meet Julie Johnson and Heron JW and he was the only one that we played singles that day."
[01:37 - 01:52] Mircea discusses his relationship with the Johnsons and coaching their kids.
"I've been you know honor to be a part of their world and you know now it's even more of an honor and a privilege to get to coach the kids."
[01:52 - 02:05] Tim notes that success leaves clues and Mircea's experience can provide valuable insights.
[02:05 - 02:20] Mircea discusses his background in squash and the importance of fitness for injury prevention and performance.
"There's there's a a big emphasis on I mean you just have to be fit and quick and be able to run for for long periods of time in in squash and if you're not healthy um you can't really play well."
[02:20 - 02:33] Mircea emphasizes having the right mindset and habits around exercise and nutrition.
"It's it's really um looking at the mindset as a lifestyle and habits."
[02:33 - 02:48] Mircea talks about the importance of finding physical activities you enjoy and making it a lifestyle.
"You have to find something you enjoy and I used to always tell my patients this because I'm a huge believer in exercise it's been a part of my life ever since I was you know 5 years old."
[02:48 - 03:03] Mircea discusses how exercise benefits overall health including brain function.
"Even as a neurologist there's evidence that um physical exercise helps delay um memory and cognitive impairment."
[03:03 - 03:17] Mircea emphasizes basics like nutrition, hydration, sleep and enjoyable exercise.
"Those are the biggest things I mean find something you enjoy, enjoy it as you're doing it and and it that will help you stick to it and enjoy the benefits of it."
[03:17 - 03:30] Mircea tore his plantar fascia playing squash and had a minor calf injury after starting pickleball.
"I torn my plantar fashion when I was playing squash. Okay um roughly 15 years ago and was out for a few months."
[03:30 - 03:42] Mircea does full body workouts focused on core strength.
"I do kind of whole body workouts but I focus on the core a lot."
[03:42 - 04:11] Mircea explains the importance of core strength for back health.
"One of the most common conditions I saw was low back pain and it was either chronic low back pain as a result of of narrowing of the spinal canal disc problems."
[04:11 - 04:26] Mircea uses a variety of core exercises like planks and medicine balls.
"I basically vary my exercises three four five times a week whenever whenever I do my exercises like one day I'll do one thing the next day I'll do something else."
[04:26 - 04:39] Mircea mixes up his workouts to work the muscles in different ways.
"I kind of try to maintain some flexibility good um and basically work work the muscles in different ways."
[04:39 - 04:52] Tim notes the rotational demands of pickleball.
[04:52 - 05:07] Mircea emphasizes the importance of core strength to support spine health.
"One of the biggest keys of maintaining your spine Health in terms you know PE one of the most common conditions I saw was low back pain."
[05:07 - 05:22] Mircea notes there are many core muscles beyond just the abs.
"Well I mean they're all kind of included but yeah they're more more muscles than than your abs for sure like you know the alos soas was
just basically the headp flexors they basically connect from your spine your back all the way through to the front."
[05:22 - 05:34] Tim discusses how posture issues led to his own back pain.
[05:34 - 05:48] Mircea emphasizes hydration habits he developed after a kidney stone at age 14.
"I got into the habit of drinking a ton of water and I mean if you see me around like I'm always carrying water drinking water I always since I was 14."
[05:48 - 06:03] Mircea discusses the benefits of hydration.
"The more volume you have in the more blood volume you have the more that you're muscles are getting fed the more the toxins is getting removed so um you know the the less tired you will be the better you will feel."
[06:03 - 06:16] Mircea uses compression, ice baths, and red light therapy for recovery.
"The leg compressions have made a big difference...I bring them to tournaments for the kids and I you know I'm competing less but when I am competing I'm also using those."
[06:16 - 06:28] Mircea notes compression helps improve recovery.
"It improves recovery yeah it does so 100%."
[08:59 - 09:12] Mircea emphasizes eating healthy, not restrictive dieting.
"When I say diet I don't mean like restricting calories I don't mean I just mean eating healthy yeah."
[09:12 - 09:28] Extreme dieting approaches like bodybuilding aren't realistic for most people.
"You're doing it for a specific profession so that understand but I'm talking for the general you know General person."
[09:28 - 09:40] Counting calories isn't fun or sustainable for most people.
"It's not fun to basically you know count every single calorie no it's not."
[09:40 - 09:53] Mircea exercises frequently so he can enjoy food.
"I love to eat and I love to eat frequently and that's part of the reason I exercise."
[09:53 - 10:08] Enjoyment is key, not viewing exercise as work.
"When you're not enjoying something it's work correct when you're enjoying it it's play yeah and and that context like you can't wait to play more."
[10:08 - 10:22] Mircea wants to stay youthful and playful.
"I want to play as much as possible so I agree and and I fell into the Trap of you know I'm I'm a work olc I mean I just I I was and I still am and you know I fall into the Trap."
[10:22 - 10:36] As a physician, Mircea tended to overwork.
"When I was working like I told you I was doing the equivalent of two full-time physician jobs for 20 plus years."
[10:36 - 10:50] Working as a physician resulted in poor sleep habits.
"Back in the day you know I was working 100 to 120 hours a week and I was up taking care of you know critically ill patients."
[10:50 - 11:03] Mircea's only major injuries were a torn plantar fascia and a minor calf strain.
"I have to tell you that uh knock on wood uh there I've had two what I would say major and overall in the scheme of things they're really not injuries."
[11:03 - 11:17] Mircea tore his plantar fascia playing squash.
"One is I torn my plantar fashion when I was playing squash. Okay um roughly 15 years ago and was out for a few months."
[11:17 - 11:29] After starting pickleball, Mircea had a minor calf injury.
"When I about I don't know 6 months after I started 6 to 8 months after I started playing pickle ball um I um basically tore the um uh I initially I was playing actually anal Waters singles."
[11:29 - 11:43] The calf injury healed faster than expected.
"Actually a um portion of my calf that was the aerosis anyway um and that'll be on the quiz everybody I thought it was um actually a uh you know I thought I was going to be out for a while."
[11:43 - 11:57] Mircea took an active approach to recover quickly from the calf injury.
"But um I I did everything I could to recover sooner and I was able to do so.
[06:28 - 06:42] Mircea emphasizes getting quality sleep, though it was challenging working long hours as a physician.
"Adequate sleep um which I've had an issue with um not because you know I can sleep I can sleep at any time but from you know in a physician when you're working you know sometimes you work 48 hours in a row."
[06:42 - 06:57] Mircea has been active and exercising since childhood.
"As a kid but when we grow up playing tennis it was the kind of thing that you'd be playing for an hour to two hours and your reward was was getting getting a drink getting getting water."
[06:57 - 07:10] As a child Mircea had an undiagnosed kidney stone that led him to increase hydration.
"I had an undiagnosed kidney stone for when when I was a kid. Okay it's long story but anyway long story short um I had an issue and I was I was instructed that if you don't want this to recur um you need to drink quite a bit of water throughout the course of the day."
[07:10 - 07:23] Mircea sees many patients with back pain exacerbated by being overweight and sedentary.
"The more weight you put on your spine and your joints the more they break down and at a younger age they break down."
[07:23 - 07:38] Mircea emphasizes health over simply thinness and finding enjoyable activities.
"It's not that right and I I don't think that should be the goal you know I think we should the goal to be healthy yes find things you enjoy."
[07:38 - 07:51] Fad diets and restrictive eating tend not to be sustainable long-term.
"Oh I'm going to go on a diet I'm going to restrict my calories to you know 1,200 a day you know yes you can do that but you know do I mean and obviously PE you know like you know highlevel bodybuilding SL Fitness um you know shows that you know they're really concentrating on every calorie."
[07:51 - 08:05] Counting calories isn't fun or realistic for most people long-term.
"It's not fun to basically you know count every single calorie no it's not um and I've never done it so I can't imagine it would be no it takes the flavor right out of the food let me just tell you."
[08:05 - 08:18] Mircea emphasizes eating healthy, not restrictive dieting.
"When people say I'm going to go on a diet I'm going to restrict my calories to you know 1,200 a day you know yes you can do that but you know do I mean and obviously PE."
[08:18 - 08:31] Mircea played squash whenever possible while working.
"I did at every chance I could while I was working um you know now I'm playing pickleball regularly and that's that's my you know my life now and so but I love it I enjoy it."
[08:31 - 08:45] The health benefits come from enjoying the process of activity.
"The health benefits become a byproduct of your enjoyment."
[08:45 - 08:59] Consistency leads to results.
"If there's no consistency there's there's no results."
[08:59 - 09:12] Mircea emphasizes eating healthy, not restrictive dieting.
"When I say diet I don't mean like restricting calories I don't mean I just mean eating healthy yeah."
[09:12 - 09:28] Extreme dieting approaches like bodybuilding aren't realistic for most people.
"You're doing it for a specific profession so that understand but I'm talking for the general you know General person."
[09:28 - 09:40] Counting calories isn't fun or sustainable for most people.
"It's not fun to basically you know count every single calorie no it's not."
[09:40 - 09:53] Mircea exercises frequently so he can enjoy food.
"I love to eat and I love to eat frequently and that's part of the reason I exercise."
[09:53 - 10:08] Enjoyment is key, not viewing exercise as work.
"When you're not enjoying something it's work correct when you're enjoying it it's play yeah and and that context like you can't wait to play more."
[10:08 - 10:22] Mircea wants to stay youthful and playful.
"I want to play as much as possible so I agree and and I fell into the Trap of you know I'm I'm a work olc I mean I just I I was and I still am and you know I fall into the Trap."
[10:22 - 10:36] As a physician, Mircea tended to overwork.
"When I was working like I told you I was doing the equivalent of two full-time physician jobs for 20 plus years."
[10:36 - 10:50] Working as a physician resulted in poor sleep habits.
"Back in the day you know I was working 100 to 120 hours a week and I was up taking care of you know critically ill patients."
[10:50 - 11:03] Mircea's only major injuries were a torn plantar fascia and a minor calf strain.
"I have to tell you that uh knock on wood uh there I've had two what I would say major and overall in the scheme of things they're really not injuries."
[11:03 - 11:17] Mircea tore his plantar fascia playing squash.
"One is I torn my plantar fashion when I was playing squash. Okay um roughly 15 years ago and was out for a few months."
[11:17 - 11:29] After starting pickleball, Mircea had a minor calf injury.
"When I about I don't know 6 months after I started 6 to 8 months after I started playing pickle ball um I um basically tore the um uh I initially I was playing actually anal Waters singles."
[11:29 - 11:43] The calf injury healed faster than expected.
"Actually a um portion of my calf that was the aerosis anyway um and that'll be on the quiz everybody I thought it was um actually a uh you know I thought I was going to be out for a while."
[11:43 - 11:57] Mircea took an active approach to recover quickly from the calf injury.
"But um I I did everything I could to recover sooner and I was able to do so.
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