Tennis Strikes Back: USTA Wants Tennis Played on Pickleball Courts
Last Edited
Aug 28 2024
Category
News
It's not clear if the average pickleball player actually has a stake in the "war on tennis."
The presumed crusade seems to be more a mischaracterization by the media and frustrated tennis players than the result of real malevolence from pickleballers. The latter group just want more places to play, after all.
Regardless, it seems the US Tennis Association doesn't take kindly to the 223% surge in pickleball players over the last three years.
The USTA sees pickleball as a threat, particularly because it’s "taking over" tennis courts across the nation.
The organization's President, Dr. Brian Hainline, openly criticized pickleball in a recent interview with the Associated Press, describing its rise as "eroding" tennis's infrastructure.
"A lot of pickleball advocates just came in and said, ‘We need these tennis courts.’ It was a great, organic grassroots movement but it was a little anti-tennis."
Sounds a little childish; a little too, "no, that's mine!" to me — like he never learned how to share.
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USTA Enacts Retribution on Pickleball
While some tennis organizations abroad have embraced pickleball to diversify interest in racket sports, particularly in France, the USTA resists this trend.
Instead, they're promoting "red ball tennis," a beginner-friendly version of the sport designed to be played on pickleball courts.
Again, childish. It reads as blatant retribution for pickleball daring to find more than one use for some tennis courts.
"There!" I can practically hear the USTA president say. "How do YOU like it?!"
Read Next: Pickleball Should be More Mainstream. This is How We Get it There.
Even some tennis players, like top-ranked Taylor Fritz, see no reason for animosity between the two, enjoying both sports and advocating for their coexistence.
So, pickleball community: let's be the proverbial bigger person. If you see USTA's red ball on your local court, welcome its players and talk their ears off...about pickleball.
Adam Forziati is the director of content for The Kitchen Pickleball and has been playing since 2018.
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