Justine Steven: A Whole New World

Having the opportunity to write about Justine Steven is an honour, although anyone who has spent any real time with her will probably understand why. There are perhaps a couple of exceptions and, strangely enough, both are called Mark. Her husband, Mark Steven, is seeing increasingly less of his wife thanks to the amount of pickleball now filling her calendar, while Mark Johnson, one of Wales’ leading players and Justine’s regular mixed doubles partner, gets more than his fair share of time experiencing the wonderfully unpredictable workings of her brain. Both will joke about the amount of ‘quality time’ they spend with her.

The rest of us are probably just jealous.

Justine is one of those people you are always pleased to see walk through the door. There may be a Disney-themed pickleball outfit, there will almost certainly be a conversation that goes somewhere unexpected, and there will always be laughter. She brings an energy to the court that is difficult to manufacture, and underneath all of that is an exceptionally talented player. Justine would never tell you that herself, so fortunately she has made the questionable decision of letting me write this article instead.

Her sporting story began long before pickleball and, rather brilliantly, with some ‘swingball happenstance’ at a caravan park. Justine was playing with her brother when a tennis coach staying in the caravan next door spotted their potential and encouraged their parents to take them to local tennis sessions. From there, tennis became serious. She represented Wales as a junior, was regularly ranked among the top four in her age group and competed almost every week. She was clearly talented, but when we spoke about that period of her life, it wasn’t the results that stood out.

It was the pressure.

Training filled most days after school and, as expectations grew, so did the intensity. By 12 or 13, Justine remembers the demands as gruelling. Being highly seeded also brought an expectation that she should win, something she admits she struggled to deal with at that age. Competition could make her physically sick, and she hated people watching her play. She still loved the friendships and social side of tennis, but eventually something she had started because she enjoyed it became something she felt enormous pressure to perform in.

At 16, knowing she wasn’t going to pursue tennis professionally, Justine stepped away from that level of competition. She continued playing more socially before stopping altogether when she became pregnant at 28. For the next 20 years, she was a stay-at-home mum to her two boys, and competitive sport largely disappeared from her life. She never imagined she would seriously compete again, and certainly not that some of her greatest sporting achievements might still be waiting for her in her 50s.

Then came pickleball.

For someone whose Disney-themed outfits would eventually become a regular feature of tournament weekends, perhaps it is fitting that the sport opened up a whole new world.

A member of David Lloyd, Justine fancied a change and wanted something that would make use of the racket skills she had developed without simply returning to tennis. She loved pickleball immediately. There were familiar skills, but also new shots, tactics and challenges to learn. The timing was important too. Her boys were getting older, she had more time for herself, and she describes having a new zest for life and wanting to try something different. Pickleball became part of that.

In typical Justine fashion, she didn’t immediately think she was particularly good. It was only when she moved to Cwmbran Pickleball Club and began playing the game ‘properly’ that she started to think she might be “alright” at it.

(“Alright” is doing quite a lot of heavy lifting there.)

As tournaments followed, Justine had one major concern: she didn’t want the feelings she remembered from junior tennis to return. So she made herself a promise. The moment she stopped enjoying pickleball, socially or competitively, she would stop. She had continued with tennis for too long when it was no longer making her happy and wasn’t prepared to make the same mistake twice.

That promise might explain why this version of Justine the competitor looks so different. She still gets nervous, but she no longer sees those nerves as something negative. Most remarkably, the young tennis player who hated people watching her now enjoys playing in front of a crowd. Pickleball has given her a competitive environment where the result still matters but doesn’t consume everything around it. In perhaps the most fitting Disney reference of them all, Justine has finally learned to let it go. Not the competitive edge, I can assure you that is still very much there, but the pressure and expectation that once took the enjoyment out of playing.

Which brings us to the bit Justine would probably rather I didn’t write.

Justine Steven is an exceptional pickleball player. She is one of the leading players in Wales, particularly in the 50+ game, and was named MVP on her PPL debut. I also know first-hand how talented she is, having had the privilege of partnering her when we won the mixed doubles title at the inaugural Welsh Nationals. She is incredibly competitive, skilful and still improving, but you would struggle to get any of that out of her in conversation. There will always be someone better or another part of her game she thinks needs work. Humility is an admirable quality, but occasionally somebody else has to point out the obvious.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Justine’s story is that turning 50 hasn’t narrowed what she thinks is possible. It has done the opposite. She talks about appreciating her body more, wanting to look after herself and continuing to learn. Seeing players competing brilliantly into their 60s and 70s inspires her rather than making her think about slowing down. She genuinely doesn’t believe she has reached her peak yet and, knowing Justine, there is absolutely no reason she shouldn’t keep improving well into those age categories too. How far can she go? Well, in keeping with the Disney theme, perhaps to infinity and beyond.

Towards the end of our conversation, I asked what she would tell the 12 or 13-year-old version of herself who was struggling with the pressure of tennis. Her first answer was exactly what you would expect:

“Play pickleball instead.”

Her second was to give up tennis sooner. Underneath the humour, though, was something more meaningful. She would tell herself that she didn’t have to keep doing something simply because she was good at it, and that sport should still be something she enjoyed.

“She plays with ferocious competitiveness, but never loses sight of why we fell in love with hitting a plastic ball over a net in the first place.”

International Teammate Tribute

There is a lovely symmetry to Justine’s story. Her first racket sport arrived almost by accident because a tennis coach happened to be staying in the caravan next door. Decades later, another racket sport entered her life and once again revealed just how much sporting ability she possesses. The difference is that this time, the person underneath the player is enjoying the journey just as much as the player enjoys competing.

And that is ultimately why I wanted to write about her. Yes, she is one of the best pickleball players in Wales. But she is also the person who turns up in the ridiculous Disney outfit, makes people laugh, has time for everyone and somehow manages to be one of the best players on the court without ever behaving or believing as though she is.

Maybe, after all these years, Justine has found her own version of the happiest place on earth. It just happens to be 44 feet long, 20 feet wide and have a net running through the middle.

Justine will never tell you how good she is, either as a player or as a person. So, for once, she doesn’t get a say. I’m telling you for her.

And for someone who has always dreamed of being a Disney character, perhaps she has finally found the role made for her as the Pickleball Powerhouse Princess!