When I was a kid, just about the worst insult you could hurl at a boy was, “You throw - or run, or walk like a girl.”
Right now, I wish I could play pickleball like a girl. A week or so ago Chris Lanigan called to invite me to play a few games with her group. She knew I’ve been trying to work my way back into the game after a long hiatus. Chris is an excellent pickler with whom I played until I was sidelined three years ago. Her group boasts many solid players including Linda Rakosi, Sue Souls and Mary Lee Beach. I was the token charity case, yet none of them chose charity over winning. They beat me like a recalcitrant mule. By the end of two hours and five games, I felt as if I’d run a marathon while being pelted with rocks. Clearly, I’m not yet ready for primetime.
Pickleball might well be the most egalitarian of sports. It doesn’t matter if you are man or woman, young or old, large or small, short or tall. The world’s top rated female pickler is seventeen-year-old, five-foot six-inch tall Anna Leigh Waters. Anna Leigh turned professional in 2019 when she was twelve and earned the top rating in October 2022. The best in women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles, it is rare that she doesn’t win the trifecta in the tournaments she enters.
While The Landings Club does not yet have a player, male or female, the caliber of Anna Leigh Waters, the average ratings of our premier players, both men and women, have been steadily rising. We have a number of women with DUPR ratings as high as 4.6. Many agree, the most formidable women picklers include Krista Poppell, Courtney Neely, Dinah Zapatka, Amy Paderewski, Kristen Berger, MJ Martin, Karen Inglese, Claudia Gaughf and Janet Eastwood. Others mentioned include Katelyn Hilliard and Maddie Phillips.
It’s impossible to know how well our elite woman would fare against elite women on a national stage. One downside to DUPR is that one’s rating is largely determined by the people you play most often. In other words, a 5.0 rating at The Landings might be a 4.0 in Colorado or a 6.0 in Utah. However, that does not detract from the strides The Landings Club picklers have made in little over ten years. We are good. New players will invade the courts, and DUPR scores will continue to rise.
Speaking of competition, kudos to Einar and Betsey Andersen who took Bronze at the U.S. Senior Pickleball Indoor Nationals in Macon, Georgia. The tournament was held at Rhythm and Rally, which, with 32 courts is the largest indoor pickleball facility in the world. Over 450 players from 15 states competed in the three-day tournament. By taking Bronze, the Andersens did their part in sending a message. The Landings Club picklers are to be taken seriously. Congratulations Einar and Betsey.