Tennis and pickleball: new best friends? Just on the heels of The French Open announcing it will feature pickleball as a sideline event, we've learned that The Cincinnati Open tennis event will include pickleball in its slate of renovation projects.
The work will total $260 million in improvements to the Mason campus, including a new 2,000-seat stadium, extensive landscaping, a restaurant, and...six pickleball courts.
"The majority of the work to expand the campus will be to the south and west of the venue’s current footprint," according to a press release.
"Additional parking will be added to the north of the campus and multiple new access points to the parking areas will be created in the coming years."
The campus will grow from 21 to 31 total courts.
Padel, Too
What may interest pickleball fans, and those of other racquet sports, is that the Mason campus will also receive two padel courts.
If you haven't heard of padel, it's a fast-paced racquet sport similar to doubles pickleball where many of the points are earned in volleys:
@thekitchenpickleball I’d give my left nut to be as good as these guys. 🌰 #padel #pickleball #padelvideos #padelamateur #padeltime #padelove #padeltennis #padelchallenge #highlights #foryou #thekitchen ♬ original sound - The Kitchen Pickleball
Players are surrounded by a topless glass cage with two parallel doors on either side, which they may exit from at any point to return far balls. A bit like pickleball, but obviously more so related to squash.
The sport was originally invented in Acapulco, Mexico and has since gained popularity outside of the United States. It is only now beginning to spread in the States, mostly around Miami, but faces higher financial barriers to entry than pickleball.
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