Turn Down
for What?
By Joe Dinoffer
Let’s face it, tennis can be conservative. Country
clubs, white apparel and polite soft clapping at
tournaments.
Pickleball is louder. More people having
fun in a smaller area than tennis. And the sound of a
pickleball hitting the paddle can be startling to tennis
players, who sometimes complain that pickleball is
too loud! This intrigued me, so we put it to the test
and professionally recorded a pickleball hitting a
paddle compared to the sound of a tennis ball strike.
Surprise! Pickleball is 30 percent quieter than tennis!
But there are other contributing factors, giving
credibility to players’ complaints about pickleball being
too loud and distracting to tennis players.
The pitch of the pickleball hit is higher—a different
sound draws attention. The pickleball court is smaller.
Up to 16 pickleball players can compete in the same space
as four tennis players. Pickleball points average nine hits.
Tennis averages three.
In pickleball matches, the ball is in play nearly 30
minutes per hour. In tennis, it’s a maximum of 15
minutes, usually less.
The conclusion? Pickleball matches have at least eight
times as many pickleball strikes than tennis due to the
increased number of players in the same area and the
average length of each point, as well as the inevitable
talking, laughing and joking that is part of pickleball,
setting it apart from tennis. The result is that pickleball
is a louder game, but not because of the sound of the
pickleball hitting the paddle!
Will this fact change tennis to be more casual and fun?
Let’s reconvene in the next year or two and find out. I
certainly hope so. Fun equals increased participation in
both sports! •
Joe Dinoffer is a master professional in the USPTA and PTR, has written nine books,
produced 22 DVDs, and has appeared on the Tennis Channel. His company www.
OnCourtOffCourt.com manufactures more than 100 proprietary training aids for pickleball
and tennis.
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