Matthew Manasse’s crossroads, like so many others, came during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 38-year-old Millcreek Township native was living in Florida as a tennis coach when the pandemic brought professional sports to a standstill. He wanted to visit his parents at their nearby winter home but Manasse had been exposed to COVID at a fitness class and his mother told him to head to Erie, instead.
“I was all alone at their house, making TikTok videos and watching (Dr. Anthony) Fauci talk about COVID on TV,” Manasse said. “A friend invited me to play pickleball at Westwood Racquet Club. I don’t think it was open at the time but someone had a key. It was just something to get out of the house.”
Manasse, a former Division I college tennis player, had spent the past several years coaching college and professional tennis. But the job had turned into a grind, both financially and emotionally.
He was looking for a something new, a second act. What Manasse didn’t know was that pickleball would lead the way.
Manasse has battled long odds since the day he was born. He arrived three-and-a-half months early at what is now AHN Saint Vincent and weighed just two pounds, three-and-a-half ounces.
“He was so small and helpless looking,” said his father, retired Erie ophthalmologist Dr. Howard Manasse during a family visit to Saint Vincent on Aug. 26. “I remember seeing him in the (neonatal intensive care unit), there were a million wires coming out of him.”
Manasse remained at Saint Vincent’s NICU for 14 weeks, getting discharged on his original due date and weighing about seven-and-a-half pounds.
The effects of being a prematurely born baby lingered through Manasse’s childhood. He needed supplemental oxygen for six months and suffered exercise-induced asthma through his college years.
But he also learned how to rise above it to play college tennis at USC and Purdue University. That same determination led him to Los Angeles and a new career.
“So, I played pickleball with a group of mostly older players,” Manasse said. “Dr. Howard Levin was the best. I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t beat someone in their 60s. But I got obsessed with the sport.”
Manasse went to his parents’ house and converted their old tennis court into a pickleball court by putting down duct tape and borrowing a portable net.
His social media posts became more focused on pickleball. They grabbed the attention of an old tennis friend, who suggested that he play doubles with professional player Ryan Sherry at an upcoming pickleball tournament in Los Angeles.
“They flew me down to Florida in August for a week of training, where I met Ben Johns, the top pickleball player in the world at that time,” Manasse said. “I used the last of my Marriott points from coaching to book a flight and hotel for the tournament. That’s where I met a whole bunch of people and things started to happen.”
Manasse’s trip to LA kicked off his new career
Pickleball’s popularity was on the rise in late 2020, especially among celebrities in Los Angeles. Manasse met all sorts of famous people during his weeklong stay, including Doug Ellin, creator of the TV show “Entourage.”
The two men hit it off and Manasse was invited to a private pickleball game in Mulholland Estates, one of the city’s fanciest neighborhoods.
“I was meeting all of these people and I knew by this time that I wanted to do something in entertainment,” Manasse said. “So, I looked for the cheapest place to stay in LA and I found a studio apartment above a garage.”
Manasse set his sights on the Riviera Country Club, where he visited years earlier as a college tennis coach. His goal was to start a pickleball clinic at the exclusive club that caters to the rich and famous.
It took Manasse a few months, but he wrangled a meeting with the club’s activities director.
“I taught a 16-person pickleball clinic for free and then did another one that included a small group of women,” Manasse said. “I later found out they were the wives of (actor and Seinfeld co-creator) Larry David, (entertainment industry executive) Jim Berkus and (media mogul) Ari Emmanuel.”
From one pickleball court to coaching Andre Agassi
Riviera agreed to rent Manasse one makeshift pickleball court for $15 an hour, on which he gave lessons and clinics up to six hours a day.
He eventually started coaching celebrities, including Matthew Perry and Emma Watson. He was mentioned in a Vanity Fair article as a “Hollywood’s favorite pickleball coach” and “Pickleball McNasty,” a pun on his last name that Manasse used at various tournaments.
“I started hosting pickleball-related events, while also working as the emcee,” Manessa said. “Corporate events and brands wanted to be associated with pickleball. It really started taking off.”
He even coached tennis Hall of Famer Andre Agassi in preparation for Pickleball Slam 4, which was held in April in Hollywood, Florida.
Two highlights: A day with the Bush family and a night with Jamie Foxx
Two specific events stand out in Manasse’s mind. One was when he was invited to fly by private jet from a pickleball tournament in Indianapolis to the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.
He met former President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as well as NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.
“We played on a tennis court at the family compound that had been converted into two pickleball courts,” Manasse said.
The other memory was a night spent with actor and pickleball fanatic Jamie Foxx. They started by playing pickleball at Foxx’s country club and finished with a late-night dinner at Mastro’s Steakhouse.
“We went to Jaime’s country club and he rolled up in a Rolls-Royce,” Manasse said. “I brought my manager and he just had his assistant. After we played, he asked if I like steak. Yes, sure! We went to Mastro’s, just the four of us eating until after it closed.”
Manasse’s favorite jobs are hosting events and coaching players
Besides hosting corporate events, Manasse coaches developing pickleball professionals, and works as a commentator for pickleball tournaments broadcast on the Tennis Channel, ESPN and ABC. His website has separate sections for each of his jobs
It’s a lot of public speaking for someone who used to loathe it.
“But my favorite part of all of this is event production, when someone hires me to put on something special,” Manasse said. “Though I still love playing and coaching, especially coaching junior players who are hungry to get better.”
Manasse, who had been sharing his life story during a visit to Saint Vincent’s NICU, realized he needed to take his parents back home and travel that afternoon to New York City.
He was scheduled to work the U.S. Open and, perhaps, discover more career opportunities.
