A former DUPR-sponsored athlete returns to the game after years on tour, major health challenges, and a life-changing identity shift.

Rob Nunnery’s journey in pickleball has come full circle. He was one of the first athletes ever supported by DUPR, and after years competing at the highest level and going through serious health challenges, including Crohn’s disease, multiple surgeries, and a permanent ostomy, he is now reconnecting with the sport and returning to the DUPR community to share what life looks like after everything changed.

It is a story of loyalty to the sport, resilience through adversity, and the quiet rebuilding of identity when the body forces you to slow down.

From College Tennis to Pro Pickleball

Rob Nunnery grew up in Georgia (U.S state) and played college tennis at UNC Asheville before transitioning into coaching after graduation. Like many racket-sport athletes, pickleball found him in 2019, but it didn’t take long for the sport to take over.

“The kitchen, the hand battles, the patience, the decision-making, it grabbed me fast,” he said.

By the end of 2020, he had turned professional. Soon after, he became one of the early faces of DUPR-supported competition and went on to win 19 professional titles, including the inaugural Major League Pickleball championship with Team BLQK in 2021.

Competing Around the World

Nunnery’s career has taken him across the United States and internationally, with stops in Dubai, Malaysia, and India.

One of the most meaningful moments came in 2025 in Dubai, just weeks after undergoing a colostomy procedure.

“I was about 10 weeks post-colostomy and still managed to win men’s doubles and take silver in mixed doubles, and that was the first time I proved to myself I could still compete,” he shared.

Another defining stretch came in Asia, where sport, coaching, and competition intersected in unexpected ways. After first coaching rising Indian talent in 2023, Nunnery later faced off against the same player he once mentored, Vanshik Kapadia, on the professional stage in Malaysia.

That match, played under extreme conditions while battling illness and injury, became a symbolic full-circle moment in his career.

“It showed me how hard it is to compete at the highest level in tough conditions now,” he said. 

It would ultimately be one of his last major professional appearances

A Health Battle That Changed Everything

Behind the results, Nunnery was fighting something far more complex off the court as well. In 2022, he was diagnosed with severe perianal Crohn’s disease, which marked the beginning of years of pain, infections, surgeries, and uncertainty that would run alongside his professional career. Even while dealing with abscesses, fistulas, and ongoing complications, he continued to compete at a high level, often playing through conditions that most athletes never experience. 

“There were times I was playing pro pickleball while dealing with constant pain and draining wounds,” he noted.

Despite major setbacks, including a torn meniscus at the NYC Open, he still managed to perform at an elite level and even earned double gold shortly after receiving his official diagnosis at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville in 2023.

As the condition progressed, the decisions became more serious and life-changing. In February 2025, he underwent a loop colostomy, followed by a proctectomy in January 2026, which made the ostomy permanent. Shortly after surgery, he faced one of the most critical moments of his recovery when a routine drain removal caused arterial bleeding from the superior gluteal artery, requiring emergency embolization to stop a life-threatening complication.

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Life After Identity Shift

Recovery forced a deeper question than health alone: who is an athlete when the body changes everything? Nunnery said there were days he didn’t feel motivated, but he held onto the belief that there was still life on the other side of it. 

Because of that, pickleball remained an important bridge back, not just as competition, but as proof of capability and a way to reconnect with what he could still do.

Over time, managing a permanent ostomy became part of his routine rather than a limitation, and while the physical side of it became more manageable, he explains that the adjustment has been more emotional than anything else.

“The harder part has been body image. Learning to accept a changed body has taken time,” he shared. At the same time, support from his family and his wife, Danélle, has played a central role in that transition, especially in moments when self-acceptance felt more difficult. 

What Pickleball Still Gives Him

While his relationship with competition has evolved, pickleball still plays a central role in his life.

The challenges are real, hydration, recovery, and physical limits now require more precision than ever. But so does awareness.

At the same time, it has given him something bigger than results: perspective. Through his journey, Nunnery has become one of the few professional athletes openly competing with an ostomy, something he does not take lightly.

“I know there are people watching who need to see that a changed body doesn’t mean your life is over,” he stated.

Building the Next Chapter & A Message for Change

Beyond competition, Nunnery is now focused on building Flexara Health, a hydration and nutrition company designed around the realities of athletes living with sensitive guts, Crohn’s disease, and ostomy life.

 Because of that experience, his focus has shifted from pushing limits to understanding them, and from performance alone to building solutions that can help others facing similar challenges.

At the same time, his message for people going through illness, surgery, or identity shifts is simple. “You are still you.” He recognizes that living through change often comes with mixed emotions, including grief, frustration, gratitude, and acceptance, sometimes all at once.

For more stories like this, including player journeys, pickleball insights, and updates from across the DUPR community, visit the DUPR blog.

To learn more about Rob Nunnery’s story, his health journey, and the work he is building, visit his Instagram!

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