Why Pickleball might just be the coolest sport ever
I’m not going to lie, until a few months ago, I had been avoiding pickleball like the plague. Seriously, I was dismissive and probably a little arrogant about the cute little sport that millions of people were playing, but that my serious-tennis-player self insisted was just not for me. Sure, I thought to myself, it’s adorable for some people, with its diminutive courts, its mysteriously named kitchen, its weird little paddles and quirky rules, but it’s played with a wiffle ball, for gods sake, how seriously could I possibly take it?!
And then, I tried it.
My first outing was with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Robin, who has been playing for a couple of years, regaling me with tales of how much fun it is and urging me to give it a try. So, last summer when I was visiting Oregon, she took me to her club and spent two hours expertly drilling me, patiently explaining the rules and then indulging me with a couple of games. I ended the session surprisingly exhausted, in awe of Robin for her skill and patience—and thoroughly and absolutely in love with pickleball.
Two weeks later, I was back in New York and ventured onto my TeamReach App to join a PB group that a tennis acquaintance had invited me to join a few years earlier. That day, I wrote a goofy message of some sort, asking if I could join the Saturday morning session and borrow a paddle. I got an immediate response from Bill, one of the organizers, who was friendly and kind and assured me that he had a paddle for me and that the group would welcome me with open arms.
And they did.
And what a blast it was! This particular group plays in an Upper Manhattan park, bringing their own nets and erecting them in an old hand-ball court on which they had painted lines a few years before. The rules of engagement are simple: Put your paddle on top of the pile of paddles to mark your spot in the queue; When your paddle is up, you join 3 other people on a court, usually choosing teams so that they are equitable; If your team wins, you stay on the court, but you split up; If you win twice in a row, you come off the court and put your paddle back in the pile.
That first day was just so fun! The group is comprised of people of various ages and skill levels, and I know that I’m not going to say anything surprising here, because we’ve all heard how nice and supportive PB communities are, but, really, these people were nice. Bill, who was so funny and generous and helpful on that first day and Wally, who took me under his wing and helped me to understand some of the nuances of the game and has since become my go-to Pickleball partner. And then there’s Nina, an accomplished player who spends many of her free days in retirement playing Pickleball all over the city. And, of course, Hope who invited me in the first place, also an amazing player, and although she wasn’t there that day, she wrote me a sweet message later telling me how glad everyone was that I showed up. On that first Saturday, I stayed for over four hours, met 20 new people, a couple of whom I now consider friends, and rode the subway home in utter bliss and exhaustion.
That evening, I ordered a paddle and began to scout other places to play. Somehow, in those late days of August and early September, before my work life got crazy, I managed to play a dozen or so times in a couple of different open play venues, upgraded my paddle and began to think about my indoor options for the winter.
I’ve been thinking lately about why I love it so much. Why does everyone love it so much? I’m sure there are lots of other reasons, but here are a few that stand out to me:
It’s easy to learn the game and doesn’t take much time to get better. Really, the journey from beginner to intermediate is a relatively short one. Of course, being a tennis player helped me a lot, but what I notice is that even people who aren’t terribly athletic can get the hang of it pretty quickly and hold their own in a game. Although some people swear it’s as athletic as tennis, the truth is that you don’t have to move as far or as fast and as a result, the game is a kind of equalizer. With some pretty basic hitting skills, you can compete—and just as importantly, have fun.
The games are fun and short. Pickleball games typically go to 11, so they only take about 15 or 20 minutes. They’re fast action, with lots of varied shots, that keep it interesting. From baseline drives to lobs and overhead smashes, dinks and third shot drops, there’s lots of different things to do and lots to work on. Just when you think you’ve mastered something, you see a Pickleball video (and trust me, your social media feed will be full of them, once you start looking) and learn that there’s a smarter way to play that shot.
People who play are really happy about playing. I’ve now played at 5 different open play spaces in New York City. Each place has its own vibe, but the one thing they all have in common is that everyone loves being there. It’s hard to explain how ubiquitous joy is in these spaces, but honestly, I’ve never been at a Pickleball open play where people weren’t smiling, introducing themselves, celebrating good points and talking about how much they love Pickleball.
Open Play Pickleball is the coolest thing in sports. I know that some people belong to Pickleball clubs and reserve court time, like they do for tennis or racquetball and I know there are definite benefits to that. Open-play events are a little different, though, and really, I think they are at the heart of what makes Pickleball so special, especially in cities like the one I live in. What’s so great about open play? In a nutshell, open play Pickleball spaces are literally the most communal, democratic, diverse and uplifting social spaces you can imagine.
Take Riverside Park Pickleball in Harlem, for example, where there is open play every single day of the year from dawn until dusk. Somewhere around 112th Street and the Hudson River (you have to walk through the park to get there) there are five permanent Pickleball courts, with a fence around them. On the fence, people have affixed baskets for players to put their paddles in, up to 4 in each basket. The hand-painted “next up” sign moves with the baskets and when there is an open court, someone (anyone, really) holds up the paddles and yells, ‘paddles up’ alerting you that it’s your turn to play. You then get on the courts, often with people you’ve never met, and play a single game, after which all four players come off the court. If you want to play again, you put your paddle in the first basket you see that doesn’t yet have 4 paddles in it and frequently you end up playing with a whole new group of people. Although there are stickers you can put at the base of your paddle indicating your level, I’ve noticed that everyone pretty much plays with everyone here and that the level tends to trend around intermediate. There is also a challenge court at this spot, where advanced players get to show off.
The thing I love most about Pickleball here is that this whole system is free and self-governing. No-one is really in charge, you don’t have to sign up and when you’re new, someone is always happy to explain how things work. This is also probably one of the most age-diverse places I’ve ever played, drawing students from nearby Columbia University, as well as lots of people my age and older and everyone in between. One lovely Saturday morning in September, I showed up and there were almost 100 people there, but because the games are quick, I rarely waited longer than 15 or 20 minutes between games. On a chilly afternoon in the late fall, I showed up and there were only 20 or so people and I basically got to play continuously. Last week, I was in a Lyft on the West Side Highway, driving by the Pickleball courts. I saw that people had shoveled the snow off two of the courts and that 8 people were actually out there playing. It was 24 degrees.
Need I say more?
