NSHIP
Pete Della Luna is presenting medals to newcomers from tennis. Ellen Markowitz (left) and Connie Yowell (right) were members of
the Yale tennis team and have now taken up pickleball. They won bronze in the World Championships, their first tournament. In the
center is Fred Drilling, their host, who, after recently winning silver in the Grass Court Tennis Championships, won gold in the Pickleball
World Championship.
The matches were live streamed by Gizmo on
the Stadium Court and Mark Adkins with Eddie
and Webby on Center Court. Scott Golden was the
main commentator along with Jeff Hossler.
The Men’s Pro division featured Ben Johns winning
gold, Tyson McGuffin, silver, and Riley Newman, bronze.
Simone Jardim and Lucy Kovalova won Pro Women’s
Doubles, and Simone and Ben won the Pro Mixed. Ben
and Kyle Yates won the Pro Men’s Doubles, giving Ben the
Triple Crown.
High-quality pickleball and a definite shift in the way
the pros are speaking out was in evidence in Florida.
Scott Moore says that he and Daniel had lots of fun
and that he is excited to see meaningful rankings for
pickleball players.
This year the pro singles events used rally scoring,
which benefits scheduling and is especially good for a
future on television. Kyle Yates said, “I really liked rally
scoring for singles. This first year was exciting at this
beautiful venue.”
Catherine Parenteau moved from the snow of
Montreal to Naples, Florida, for pickleball. She found
the World Championships to be “awesome, especially
because the finals are played on a separate day. You get
a bit of a break and time to plan a strategy. Rankings are
huge and very helpful.”
Young pros and prize money are changing the game.
Players who come from other sports know what it means
to be #1. No sport holds up a big foam finger that reads
“3.5!” Ratings are just man-made algorithms. Rankings
reflect performance and carry bragging rights. Florida
has exciting pickleball, and more and more young
players are driving this train. •
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 |
MAGAZINE
69