It was a hopeful crowd surrounding Court 6 during the Men’s Doubles matches at the Special Pops tournament. They were assembled to watch tennis great Bill Kurtain play in his first pickleball tournament. Bill is a long-time tennis player and coach who still owns tennis centers in New Jersey. Having tried pickleball a few times, Bill was dismissive of the sport. The crowd wondered: would tournament experience change his mind. No one thought he’d switch from tennis to pickleball, but maybe Bill would add pickle to his list of regular sports outings.
Teamed with pickleball fanatic Einar Andersen in the men’s 3.5 67+ bracket, the two played four matches and won the gold medal. It should be noted that this was only the third time Bill had played pickleball and he was playing on an injured leg. It should also be noted that, in the opinion of the standing room only crowd, Bill executed the most spectacular winning shot of the tournament. It was a never-before-seen underhanded backhand, blind lob which he hit at his own baseline while running away from the net. WOW, first, we had “Around the post,” then an “Ernie” and now we have the “Kurtain.” Cool!
After he was awarded his gold medal Bill was asked if he might make the shift from tennis to pickleball. He left the door open, only to shut it several days later saying, “I can’t add another regular activity to my weekly schedule, my body can’t handle it.” He went on to explain that as he plays tennis and golf three days a week and is at the fitness center five times a week, he has enough on his sports plate already. His legion of fans was left distraught but hopeful that he might someday reconsider.
Bill’s decision seems to buck the current trend. By reviewing activities enjoyed by individuals who wear Apple Watches, Apple recently concluded that pickleball has passed tennis in popularity in this country. This was no small sampling. Over one hundred million Americans currently wear Apple Watches. But still, the study only represents a third of the population. The Washington Post just ran a story in which they claim that while tennis is still more universal than pickleball, the popularity of the sport has entered a second phase of development they call Pickleball 2.0. According to the article, pickleball is now “focused less on grassroots growth and more on the thing that drives all sports: money.” It seems USA Pickleball has registered 45,000 courts in 11,000 facilities across the country and expects to register 1000 new facilities annually.
After the sport was invented in 1965 it became particularly popular in retirement communities. The Covid pandemic changed that and the average age of people participating in the sport has dropped – a lot. And money both follows and creates trends. So, stay tuned. At this point indications suggest the popularity of pickleball will eventually eclipse that of tennis. We might yet see Bill Kurtain change his mind.