From left to right: Ted Anderson( AZ) and Bob Powers( AK) took silver in a close match with Stuart Helfrich( SC) and Bart Brannon( GA). The match was played on the championship court to a packed house. Having a strictly senior tournament meant that the seniors were not packed off to the parking-lot courts.
Sylvia Mergl, 91, of Ontario, Canada, attributes her competitive edge to having played softball all over Canada. Tony Schneider, president of USSP, has agreed to offer an 85 + category next year because of the high-quality play in the upper age groups.
Many players thought the US Senior Pickleball( USSP) National Championships was the best tournament of the year. Despite rain delays, no matches were canceled and 935 players got to complete their draws.
USSP board member Tim Kuss noted,“ In all my 75 years, I’ ve never seen anything like the selfless dedication and Herculean effort the USSP organization displayed at this tournament. They hit this one out of the park.”
There are two major changes happening in senior pickleball. The first deals with the level of play, and the second involves exciting new leadership.
For some time now, seniors have been relegated to the“ back” courts— and in many cases, the wayback courts. Seniors feel that they built the sport but now face high entry fees and“ not even a t-shirt.” Many tournaments have forced them to play down in age. Fewer players attended, so draws were compressed.
At the same time, players got better. Equipment improved. Players received good instruction, and seniors worked hard to stay fit. As the quality of play improved, opportunities to play in one’ s age group declined.
The USSP championships sent a loud message: Seniors are playing good pickleball and they have first-class leadership.
Many senior players bring prior sports experience to pickleball. It has improved their game and improved tournament play overall. Sylvia Mergl of Ontario, Canada, is 91 years old and has played softball all over Canada and the U. S. She believes in staying active and demonstrates the need for increasing the age categories.
New USSP President Tony Schneider agreed to offer 85 + at next year’ s Nationals. We are seeing the 85s as the new 80s, and 80 as the new 75, etc. Bob Powers, 85, played lights-out in Men’ s Singles 80s and had match point on former professional basketball player Rick Barry.
Washington’ s Margaret Daniels has been a consistent force in Women’ s Singles 75. She trains for 90 minutes a day, doing running drills so she can move quickly and get to more shots. She wants her body to be resilient so
SEE NEXT PAGE �
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2026 | MAGAZINE 39