Eric Oncins Flipped a Coin, Then Went on to Win Back-to-Back PPA Asia Gold Medals
The most insane pickleball experience of Eric Oncins' life happened halfway around the world, by sheer happenstance, in front of a crowd that would make most American tournaments jealous.
Fresh off back-to-back gold medals in Malaysia and Vietnam, surging pro pickleball player Eric Oncins joined the PicklePod to chat through the experience with rival competitor and host, Zane Navratil.
It's quite a story. Eric wasn't planning on going at all. Then fate intervened.
From 'No Way' to Business Class: How Eric Almost Missed History
Three days before the Malaysia tournament, Eric wasn't planning to go anywhere. In fact, he was scheduled to play the PPA Vintage Open in Sacramento and looking forward to it.
Then his phone rang.
Federico Staksrud couldn't get his visa sorted in time to attend, he was told. On the line was an executive from JOOLA, looking for a high-quality partner for Tyson McGuffin. Oncins said no. Then he said no again.
"If you get me business class, I'll be there," Oncins told them, half-joking. When they initially declined, he figured that was that. But circumstances have a way of changing minds, and suddenly Oncins found himself doing a coin toss to decide whether to make the trip or stay stateside.
The coin said go. Good thing he listened.
What followed was a whirlwind two weeks that saw Oncins and McGuffin go undefeated across both tournaments, dropping only two games total. But the real story wasn't just the wins; it was everything surrounding them.
Erik Tice
7,906 Fans and a Guinness World Record
The entire week leading up to Saturday's finals, everyone kept saying it was sold out. Eric and Zane were skeptical; the upper rafters had been empty all week. Then match day arrived.
"As soon as I went in there, I think we walked in together in the stadium like we got the first look together. I was like, 'Holy shit.' This is unreal," Eric recalled of first entering the stadium with his mixed doubles partner.
"I got goosebumps, chills, just from being there, feeling that energy."
Come Finals day on Saturday, the place was packed. And the 7,906 fans didn't just watch politely. They participated, at times raucously. During long dink rallies, they'd start whistling, laughing, yelling.
Alex E. Weaver
For Oncins, who had just upset Ben Johns and Dekel Bar in the semifinals, it was the most electric atmosphere he'd ever experienced in pickleball.
"That's how pickleball should be," he said. "Let the fans get into it."
The crowd's engagement during points, not just between them, represents something different from American tournaments, where MLP has pushed boundaries but still maintains relative quiet during play. In Vietnam, the fans treated it more like a soccer match, and many of the players loved it.
The Eric Oncins Origin Story: From Money Ball Meltdown to MLP
The podcast also provided fascinating insight into Oncins' journey to professional pickleball. The Brazilian tennis player started dabbling in pickleball back in 2017, playing the U.S. Open and a few other events before returning to focus on college tennis.
His path to the pros involved living at Simone Jardim's Nashville training house (rent-free, incredibly), playing 28 tournaments in his first year while finishing his senior year of college tennis, and having a memorable first encounter with his future agent Johnny Goldberg.
That encounter? A heated money ball match where Oncins accused Goldberg of hooking a call, went into full competitive mode despite his 52-year-old father cramping and "having an asthma attack" (Eric was joking here for effect), and then screamed at Goldberg after winning.
Five minutes later, mortified by his own behavior, Oncins apologized. Goldberg loved the fire and eventually became his agent.
The story illustrates something important about Oncins' personality: he's non-confrontational by nature but intensely competitive when it matters. That combination served him well in Asia, where he had to perform under unprecedented pressure and scrutiny.
