EDEN LICA

Eden Lica

Eden was born in Romania. He started playing tennis at age 7 and began competing in tournaments around the world at age 13. As a junior, he was ranked #1 in Romania in age groups 8-10 and 12-14. Eden remained an elite junior tennis player ranking #2 in age groups 14-16 and 16-18. Eden studied sports and physical education in Romania before coming to the United States in 2013. Over the years, he has enjoyed training and teaching all levels of tennis players including top ranked professional ladies, men and juniors including USTA teams.

Eden discovered pickleball in 2016 and became a professional player in 2017. Thanks to his background in tennis, he was able to pick up the sport quickly and has been training hard ever since. In just a short period of time, Eden has amassed over 50 gold medals in professional events including singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles. His greatest accomplishments in his professional pickleball career came in 2019 when he received the bronze medal at the Indian Wells Nationals Pickleball Championship in the men’s doubles pro event, as wells as being crowned the Indoor National Champion in 2021 and 2022.

Eden balances a busy schedule teaching, training and traveling around the Unites States competing in over 20 pickleball events annually. Eden also competed on the Major League Pickleball circuit for the Bus Team in 2022. He holds wins against the best players in the world including Riley Newman, Frank Anthony Davis, DJ Young, Collin Johns, Matt Wright, Zane Navratil, JW Johnson, Tyler Loong, AJ Koller, Dylan Frazier and Rafa Hewett in singles and in doubles.

Eden has been sponsored by different companies over the years. This time, his approach during his search for a new pickleball paddle sponsor was different. “My priority was to find the perfect paddle to fit my game and then figure out how to make the deal work,” said Lica. “I met Phantom at the Boca Masters and was able to drill extensively with their Goliath paddle. I knew instantly that something just felt right to me. The control of the paddle, the wicked look and what Phantom is all about.” Phantom is an aggressive brand newer to the sport, focused on quality with a commitment to a personal connection with its team. Team Phantom is beyond excited to add a player of Eden’s ability but what we appreciate about him the most is his connection to his fans and love for the sport. Eden Lica truly embodies all we stand for and is the real “Goliath” of pickleball.