From zero racket sport experience, to being taught the basic rules by his mom for a sport he has never heard about, to only 3 active months of playing pickleball he earned his first 2 wins at the professional level in men’s pro singles in December 2021. Matt will be shaking up the professional scene through his hard work, dedication and discipline to drilling, and forever being a student of the game.

Background in sports prior to pickleball
Ice Hockey – Semi-professional | as only a senior in highschool
Ice Hockey – D1 ACHA Iowa State University
Ultimate Frisbee – Iowa State University Club Team
Spikeball – National Champion
Baseball – Travel | Pitcher, short stop, and lead off hitter
Football – High school | Quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, and safety
Track – High school | 800 meter sprint and 1600 meter run
Gaming (e-sports) – World Class in a diverse set of computer games (4 of the bigger titles listed only: Fortnite, League of Legends, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, World of Warcraft)

Matt started to play pickleball in June 2021.
He twisted his ankle very badly and was out for 3 months.
With only 3 months of playing pickleball experience Matt competed at the Professional Level | APP World Pickleball Open where he would be competing at the pro level in singles. With no racket sport experience and only 3 months of playing pickleball to date he went 2 wins and 2 losses. One of the losses was against Ryan Sherry (6th in the world at the time in men’s pro singles)

Then it was full focus on the birth of his first child and taking care of Brayden Michael Rucinski born on Dec 29th 2021.

Matt went back to training as he was to only register for 1 tournament in all of 2022 due to their second child on the way with a due date of Nov 2 2022.

Matt competed in the PPA North Carolina Open where he had 3 wins and 2 losses. Losing to Anton Gudz and Spencer Smith. If Matt beat Spencer he would have played against Tyson McMuffin 2 rounds away from a Bronze Medal match in men’s pro singles.

At the conclusion of that tournament it’s a rinse repeat cycle, back to preparing for the second and final baby (Madison a baby girl) alongside training for next season 2023.

Matt has created and led an entire infrastructure of games and drilling groups in the triangle since August 2021 where there are currently over 550+ people in the Raleigh/Durham NC area actively participating almost daily.

In addition to the games and drilling groups he also has an entire system constructed where you can post to one centralized location to find a skills group and divisions group anywhere in the Raleigh/Durham area in an app called TeamReach.
Groups included are as follows:
Beginners, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0
*In each of those skill brackets are the following divisions:
Mens singles
Womens singles
Mens doubles
Women doubles
Mixed doubles

There is a promotion process as well as a demoting process to help ensure the best skilled groups for competitive matches for ALL participants.

He has created paddle project that has been thriving since December of 2021 where currently he has over 27 companies on board to date (Aug 2 2022) where he acts as the centralized, 1 stop shop, for all of your paddle demo’ing needs. Matt has an inventory of over 150+ unique paddles across 27 brands and multiple unique paddles within each brand. Matt has a check out process FREE to all demo participants where anyone can compare the paddle in their own hands at any court in the triangle as long as they would like. Matt then connects them with the respective representative or code to receive a discount on the paddle they are now much more confident to invest in after feeling in their own hands prior to purchase.

Matt has developed a custom pickleball fitness program, nutrition plan, recovery regiment, and stretching routine that anyone is invited to join him in participating to aid them in attaining their pickleball goals.

When Matt is not training for his growth in the sport of pickleball he is coaching/teaching an average of 35 hours weekly. That includes a mixture of privates (1 on 1), semi privates (2 on 1), 3 on 1s, 4 person groups, 8 person groups (Mini clinic/Clinics). He also volunteers his time to help Mesa Somer (Pickleball Ambassador of the Durham NC Area) with her recurring Sunday morning Intro To Pickleball Classes.

Coaching Roles
Head coach of National Champion UNC Pickleball club
Club pro at 4 separate private club locations
Club Pro and Coordinator at LifeTime Fitness Raleigh NC
Former Club Pro and Coordinator at multiple YMCA locations in NC