At some point, every ambitious player runs into the same problem.
You can only improve so far in the environment you’re in.
For Conor Robertshaw, that moment didn’t come in a final or a loss. It came somewhere in between. Between flights, tournaments, and long stretches of training where the question became unavoidable.
Was he actually moving forward, or just circling the same level?
So he left.
“Honestly, the one and only reason I’ve moved to Australia is pickleball,” Robertshaw says. “If I was serious about making it a career, I had to make the move.”
At 21, the New Zealander has already done more than most. He has represented his country, captained the national team, and spent the past two years travelling across the world chasing competition. But travel, as he realised, is not the same as immersion.
You can visit the level. You cannot live at it.
Australia offered something New Zealand could not yet consistently provide. Depth. Structure. Daily exposure to stronger players. The kind of environment where improvement is not occasional, but expected.
“I knew if I wanted to take that next step, I had to get uncomfortable,” he says. “Moving here and training at Apex gives me the best chance to push my level every single day.”
That discomfort is the point.
Pickleball’s global growth is creating opportunity, but it is also creating separation. The players who move, who place themselves inside stronger ecosystems, are beginning to pull away from those who don’t.
Most players won’t make that move.
And that’s exactly why they won’t reach the level they think they can.
Robertshaw understands that.
His early results in Australia suggest the decision is already paying off. Gold in men’s singles at the PPA Australia 125 Gold Coast event. Bronze in doubles. More importantly, a growing sense that his game is catching up with his ambition.
“I’m starting to see the work pay off,” he says. “It gives me confidence that I’m on the right path.”
The changes are not just physical. His game has evolved, shifting from instinctive shot-making to more deliberate construction. More patience. Better selection. A willingness to adapt to higher-level patterns.
It’s the difference between playing well and winning consistently.
And it comes from exposure.
For years, New Zealand’s limitation has not been talent, but structure. Facilities, competition density, and pathways have lagged behind more developed regions. That is starting to change, but not quickly enough for players chasing the top tier now.
“The sport is finally starting to thrive at home,” Robertshaw says. “But if I want to compete with the best in the world, I have to live like it every day.”
That line matters.
Because this is no longer a sport where you can dip in and out of the elite level. The margins are tightening. The pathways are forming. And the geography is starting to matter.
Where you are determines how far you can go.
Robertshaw’s move is not just personal. It’s a signal.
The next generation will not wait for their domestic systems to catch up. They will go where the level is. They will train where the pressure is. They will build their careers inside environments that demand more from them.
Pickleball is opening up globally.
But the players who move first are the ones who will define what that global game actually looks like.
Chris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at all levels of pickleball. Chris is also an avid player, currently struggling to make the breakthrough from 4.0 to 4.5.