When Julie Beavis was told she wasn’t good enough to play competitive pickleball it was like waving a “red rag at a bull”.

Now she is the number one ranked women’s over-35 player in Australia following a second-place finish at the NSW Championships and title wins at the South Australian and Queensland Championships.

The West Ballina resident’s remarkable rise to the top came just 18 months after the closure of the squash courts in Ballina left her without a sport to play.

A lifelong tennis and squash player, she turned to pickleball when a group of 12 former squash players began meeting at Alstonville “just for fun and a few laughs”.

“Slowly but surely everyone dropped out apart from myself,” she said.

Beavis said some people doubted she had what it took to succeed in the sport.

“We were told we were not good enough to play. When I entered my first tournament, I didn’t even know all the rules or where I was supposed to stand,” she said.

“But I beat the lady who told me I couldn’t play and ended up finishing third in my first event.”

From that point on, she was hooked.

“I became a bit addicted and just kept playing,” she said.

Beavis set herself the goal of becoming Australia’s top-ranked women’s over-35 player and achieved it through consistent performances across the country.

She will now head to Melbourne from July 16 to 19 to compete in a Professional Pickleball Association event.

“It is a little bit scary, but it’s also rewarding to get out, do different things and meet new people,” she said.

Beavis believes her lifelong involvement in racquet sports has given her confidence under pressure.

“My parents took me to tennis and squash tournaments every weekend when I was growing up, so I feel at home at competitions. I’m not worried by the occasion and I think that’s an advantage,” she said.

While she dreams of one day playing professionally, she admits family and work commitments make that difficult.

“I’d love to be a pro, but I’m also a parent, a teacher and a farmer, so that might be a little out of my league,” she said.

“I’ve stepped outside my comfort zone, tried something new and proved that you’re never too old to chase a goal.”