It ’ s not just senior tennis players who are drawn
Cup has been held in to pickleball . Professional Europe . It brought Dave Weinbach is excited cooperation and to see the explosive growth networking among the players from across the of pickleball and the PPA continent .
Pro Tour . The prize money
Bob Mendelsohn , in Las Vegas was $ 150,000 , Chairman of Pickleball and Dave believes that
Australia , reports that increased purses will attract “ tennis is waning in
young players . popularity in Australia and many clubs are losing financially as well . Tennis Australia is losing membership and local clubs are not fiscally sustainable . The rise of pickleball in Australia attests to the viability of the sport , especially as we can fit three or four pickleball courts on the size of a tennis court . Thus , we ’ re able to bring more people to the game , increasing the social aspects and reducing the cost per person , all of which are part of the rise of our sport .” He adds , “ We love to welcome new players and try to help them learn the rules . Half of Australia ’ s players were tennis players previously . Most former tennis players do stick .”
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENTREPRENEURS
The availability of equipment is a bellwether for a sport . Now , paddles and balls are available in Walmart , Dick ’ s , and Academy Sports stores . Rodney Grubbs of Pickleball Rocks has built a family business based on pickleball . Rodney played in USTA leagues and coached high school tennis . His sons had successful small college tennis careers . They all love competition , so they became hooked on pickleball after their first tournament . Twelve years ago , they started the Pickleball Rocks Clothing Company .
“ Because the learning curve for pickleball is short , people from
“ Rather than a any racket sport find it easy to start club having a and compete ,” explains Rodney . “ It
Director of Tennis , is easy to grab three other similarly there ’ s now a skilled players for a match . The
Director of Racket court is small enough to be
Sports .” played in YMCAs , churches , and parking lots . The two professional pickleball circuits provide steadily growing cash prizes . It is an attractive financial alternative to the other racket sports .”
The tournament business has become a lucrative enterprise for tournament directors and for clubs , as well as for clothing and equipment companies .
Pickleball is also transforming communities . St . George , Utah , is one example , according to former USA Pickleball President David Jordan : “ Sixteen years ago , when St . George ’ s retirement community was just starting to grow , Don Odie got the Huntsman World Games to include pickleball . Now 900 players participate with many more seeking to enter . The city built 12 public courts at Little Valley then added 12 more . USA Pickleball worked with companies and builders to set court guidelines and help in the development of the ASBA Construction / Maintenance Handbook .”
The US Open Pickleball Championships in Naples , Florida , is the result of two entrepreneurial women , Chris Evon and Terri Graham , as well as the forwardthinking Collier County staff . “ The US Open was designed to be an ‘ Event ,’ not just a tournament . We took many ideas from US Open Tennis along with US Open Racquetball ,” Chris explains . “ Pickleball was built on the social element of the game . Pickleball advanced in the senior demographic thanks to a great job done by the USA Pickleball Ambassador Program . Tennis has been around 150 years ; pickleball has been around 55 years and has 4 million players .”
East Naples Community Park , where the US Open is held , has 64 permanent , dedicated pickleball courts . Now other counties in Florida are seeing the benefits of good pickleball facilities . Build them and players will come , and when they do they will want more courts built !
This year ’ s USA Pickleball West Regional Championships will be run at a tennis club on 44 courts . Steve Sidwell , West Regional Director , says , “ The number of participants in our regional championships has been growing between 25 to 33 percent per year due to overall increase in the popularity of pickleball , growth in the number of pickleball facilities , and the number of tournaments being hosted by new organizations such as the APP and the PPA .”
Whether it ’ s equipment being sold in big-box stores , entrepreneurs establishing tournaments , courts being built in small and large towns everywhere , World Pickleball Day , foreign tournaments , or kids chalking lines in their cul-de-sacs , pickleball fever is sweeping the nation . •
Alice Tym was ranked 13th in the world for tennis in the ‘ 60s . She ’ s been named USPTA Coach of the Year and is a USPTA Master Professional . As a 4.5 pickleball player , she won gold in Huntsman , NSGA Nationals , US Open , and USA Pickleball events around the country . Alice is an IPTPA member , SSIPA founding board member , Bainbridge Cup Originator and gold medalist in Spain , Italy , and Germany .
“ Japan already has pickleball courts in every city , town and village .”