Emanuel Valdovinos Sánchez has been building the local pickleball community for eight years .
Ixtapa is one of them , with about 220 suites including fully equipped kitchens . The vibe is far more energetic . Five on-site restaurants make the dining more diverse . The biggest common connection between the two cities is the weather — during winter , the climate is better than tropical . It ’ s invariably sunny . Temperatures are typically in the mid-80s , with humidity in the high 60s .
It ’ s great for pickleball . If the sport is erupting there , it ’ s due to a singular force — 37-year-old Emanuel Valdovinos Sánchez , a former Mexican men ’ s singles champion , who began building a local pickleball community eight years ago by distributing fliers to tourists while he and his wife pushed a stroller with his first daughter aboard .
These days , Sánchez and his daily round robins have been drawing a hundred players a day to six courts at two public sites . Not the same hundred players , mind you , but a constantly rotating cast as snowbirds come and go . A cousin organizes play on a third site as does a brother , at least part-time , on a fourth .
I ’ ve played with people from all over North America , and the competition keeps my heart rate up and blood sugar down . For me , it ’ s the perfect winter getaway . How perfect ? When I ’ m here , every time a local greets me with , “ Cómo está ?” ( How are you ?), I reply , “ Muy bien — estoy en el Paraíso !” ( Very well — I ’ m in Paradise !) •
Patrick Houston retired after spending 45 years as a reporter , magazine correspondent , freelance writer , online editor-in-chief , and digital media executive . He lives in northern California ’ s Sonoma Valley , playing pickleball , drinking wine , and traveling .
MAY / JUNE 2022 | MAGAZINE 63