Court
Wars
BY ROB DAVIDSON
N
o, I’m not talking about the midday Judge “So-and-
So” shows. I’m talking about the struggle that many
pickleball and tennis players go through when a tennis
club decides to put pickleball lines on a tennis court. With
the ever-increasing popularity of pickleball, the challenge
for many players has been finding places to play. There are
several options (excluding the cost-prohibitive option of
making new courts!) that players in this situation have:
parking-lot courts, gym courts or tennis courts. Parking-
lot courts are typically temporary, made with chalk, and
are great for a weekend of fun, but not a very acceptable
long-term solution. Gym courts are common in areas
where rain and other weather conditions prohibit outdoor
play, but it is not uncommon that gyms have lines for
not only basketball, but often volleyball or badminton
(Note: a badminton court only differs at the Kitchen line!).
Personally, I’ve never had much problem with multiple
lines on a court, so long as the line sets are different colors.
The option that this article highlights is putting pickleball
lines on a tennis court. While the basketball players in a
gym can be territorial, many pickleball players experience
tennis players who are more abhorrent to the idea of
sharing their courts. So how can pickleball players get their
fair share of court time, while remaining civil in the face of
disrespect? Here are a few ideas:
1) Have a court reservation system for your club, just
like the tennis reservation system. The club could
have designated hours of “Pickleball Play” where
players can make a reservation for the court; that
way, if no pickleball players reserve, the tennis players
still have the option to reserve that court.
2) Have a club-assigned time for “drop-in” pickleball
play, where the court is automatically reserved
for pickleball; that is, a time that the court is not
available for reservation.
3) Be respectful of tennis players’ court time and their
sport. Remember the golden rule!
4) Invite tennis players to participate, but be accepting if
they decline.
These are just a few ideas on how to keep the peace
while trying to integrate pickleball into your local tennis
facility. •
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JULY/AUGUST 2017 |
MAGAZINE
19