HERE COMES MIA
Mia Esteban had reason to feel anxious.
This was, after all, her first tournament in a rising sport she had just taken up and it wasn’t just any club event in the country.
She was competing in the 2024 Pickleball Championship, a tier-5 event and the biggest in Asia, which was held at Liga Tennis Sports Club in Bali, Indonesia.
“I was definitely nervous, with this being my first ever pickleball tournament,” Esteban told the Inquirer. “Coming into this tournament, I told myself to just have fun and to trust myself and my partner to have great synergy.”
Esteban was competing in the mixed doubles event together with CJ Luna. The two knocked off opponents in the earlier rounds and then ran into a red-hot Thai pair of Kantapat Chankasem and Natthamon Tiengtae, who ousted the FIlipino duo in the semifinals.
Esteban and Luna eventually took the bronze over another Filipino tandem, Clo dela Paz and Bernard Kyle Valenzuela.
“I wasn’t expecting to win many matches due to my lack of tournament experience but with every matchup we faced, we just ended up winning all of our games until the semifinals,” Esteban said. “I would say that CJ and I definitely had great communication and understood each other’s strengths and weaknesses and were able to adapt and cover for each other.”
Surreal feeling
It helped that Esteban had a very vocal cheerer in the sidelines in Bali.
And this was no ordinary fan. In fact, she may have been the most decorated fan in the stands—perhaps even in the tournament.
“I was just very proud of her,” Filipino-Ivorian fencer Maxine Esteban, an Olympian who competed in the recent Paris Games, said. “Mia has always been a fighter. She is very competitive too. I know she would do well so I really just enjoyed the game.”
It certainly didn’t escape Mia’s awareness that an Olympian was rooting for her during the tournament.
“Having an Olympian sister cheer for me in the stands is surreal,” Mia said. “I don’t even feel like I should have that honor. From being the one accompanying her to all of her tournaments abroad to her watching me compete, it feels as if the roles were completely reversed. I was bolstered by her presence and her cheers, with her being my loudest and most supportive audience.”
Maxine welcomed the reversal of roles—and the nerves that came with it.
“It felt strange at first,” Maxine said. “I felt nervous for her but then I suddenly remembered how she would she would cheer me on. I always hear Mia’s voice cheering for me in fencing competitions. She spent about a year with me prior to the Olympics. Her voice strengthens me and at the same time, it reassures me. Now that I’m on the other side, I did my best to do the same thing for her. To be strong and positive, so that she will feel the same.”
But that was the entirety of Maxine’s support. She may be an Olympian, but this was Mia’s show and she stayed in the sidelines and watched her sister advance round after round.
“Coming into the [bronze medal] match, I knew that they would target all the drives at me, so I mentally prepared myself to take all of the hits face on,” Mia said. “Because of this along with my partner’s sense of gameplay, we were able to outlast and outpace our opponents and clinch the bronze.”
Smile on her face
After supporting her sister through her fencing journey, Mia said she fully understands the demands of success in her sport—but draws a line at being the rising sport’s poster girl.
“This (bronze finish) definitely paints a huge target on my back,” Mia said. “There are still better players out there who are much more capable and experienced in the field. I don’t feel [that] I should be the one bestowed that honor of being the sport’s poster girl.”
“I have very mixed feelings about the recent surge of popularity of the sport. For one, it’s such an exciting era to be a part of. There’s so much potential to make a name for myself, to get better even if I’ve started late, and to travel for competitions.
“It strengthened my resolve to take this sport seriously and to be able to match even the best players. It is a bittersweet thing, to have this huge potential to make a name in the field, but on the other hand, have to explain to some people what pickleball is,” she added.
The Philippines is just making its way up the ladder of the sport internationally, but Maxine said she is confident her sister has what it takes to make a name for herself.
“She is very competitive and such a team player,” Maxine said. “Every time they were losing, I would always hear her motivating her partner saying, ‘bawi tayo CJ’ or ‘one stop CJ.’”
And she has a message for Mia:
“When you start winning internationally, you will want to win more. The fire within you will burn brighter. Through this whole journey, remember to enjoy the game. Do not let the game pressure you. I know how talented and competitive you are, so just enjoy the game and do your best. We are very proud of you no matter what,” she said.
As for Mia? She will continue working her way to the top.
“I faced every match with a smile on my face knowing I’m going to have a great time, learning about myself, applying all the training I’ve done with JavaJ Academy, and treating each point like it’s the last,” she said.
“I definitely have much to correct and improve, and if I have learned anything in this competition, it’s that both winning and losing have learning points. I shouldn’t be contented with what I have now and I still have a long way to go to prove that I can match with the best. I learned that I enjoyed being the underdog because it only strengthened my resolve to be better and to prove my worth in the field.”
One thing is for certain: No matter where she competes, she can always count on a familiar voice in the crowd egging her on when things get testy.
