I didn’ t want to make a film that’ s an overview of a phenomenon. I was looking for a real insider story, something that the 40 + million Americans who play the game might not know about and find really interesting.”— Ashley Underwood
What happens when a beloved recreational pastime explodes onto the professional stage, bringing with it ambition, investment, and inevitable growing pains? The documentary“ Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story,” directed and produced by Ashley Underwood and written and produced by Craig Coyne, sought to answer that very question.
Underwood, married to actor and television producer Larry David, is a former tennis player who picked up pickleball during the pandemic and initially viewed the sport with a touch of skepticism.“ Honestly, at first glance it didn’ t seem very challenging— it didn’ t look like much of a workout,” she admits.
However, her first foray onto the courts at Memorial Park in Santa Monica painted a dramatically different picture.“ It was completely packed. It was such a scene. It was everybody... it was studio executives, firefighters, it was stay-at-home moms— it was just every type of person you could imagine. And then I realized this is why my friend really likes pickleball.”
The unexpected melting pot is a key ingredient in pickleball’ s explosive popularity. Coyne, who wrote a pivotal article on the sport for Vanity Fair, observed,“ L. A. is so segregated in so many ways. So for something to bring together studio execs and firefighters— I’ ve never heard of that happening in L. A. before.”
He further emphasizes the sport’ s ability to combat the growing sense of isolation in modern society.“ Like U. S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said,‘ There ' s an epidemic of loneliness in this country. Pickleball has broken down barriers and brought people together in a way we haven’ t seen before. And at a time when so many really needed it.’”
Their documentary captures this grassroots enthusiasm, showcasing the vibrant social scene at public courts and the burgeoning trend of court
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MAY / JUNE 2025 | MAGAZINE 45