Josie Gresko enjoys the social aspects of playing pickleball at Deep Run Recreation Center. (Photo by Jay Paul)
When Linda Scott and her husband, Dave, heard a popping sound and laughter coming from a court in The Villages, Florida, they were curious. The courts were blocked by a windscreen, and, as Scott recalls, she told her husband, “That doesn’t sound like tennis.”
The Scotts eventually found the source of the sound: a whiffle ball smacked back and forth with rackets resembling table tennis paddles. That was 15 years ago, when pickleball was a niche game mostly played in retirement communities.
Today, it is America’s fastest-growing sport, with dozens of pickleball courts being built around the Richmond area to meet demand. The first of these courts, built at Rockwood Park in Chesterfield, was named for the Scotts in 2014 after they helped establish the game in Central Virginia.
Now, Linda Scott is the Central Virginia Ambassador for USA Pickleball and president of the Pickleball Club of Chesterfield County.
“Back 15 years ago, it was really played by seniors,” she says. “Now, we have so many young players and youth. It’s a very social sport, and it’s also easy to learn. You can start playing pickleball after breakfast and be a pretty good player by lunchtime.”
The game is similar to table tennis, and the court is the size of a badminton doubles court. Scott describes it as “pingpong, if you were running around on top of the table.” It is an especially attractive sport for tennis players looking for a more laid-back option.
Josie Gresko, a Virginia Commonwealth University pharmacy student, says that the social aspect of the game keeps her coming back. A top high school tennis player and a club player at William & Mary, she plays pickleball in the open gym at Deep Run Recreation Center on Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons.
“It’s a lot more social than tennis,” Gresko says. “When you go to a tennis court, people want to play with the groups they’re already with. But when you show up to pickleball courts, people invite you in. If you don’t know, they’ll show you how to play.”
An 18-court indoor/outdoor pickleball facility, Performance Pickleball, is scheduled to open later this year in the space formerly occupied by Macy’s at Regency mall, indoor pickleball venue Bangers and Dinks opened this month in Chesterfield, and Henrico County is planning to add 12 more courts to the dozen already open at Pouncey Tract Park in the next 18 months.
“The game is growing so rapidly,” says Dennis Bickmeier, executive director of the Henrico Sports and Entertainment Authority. “With new courts [at Pouncey Tract], we’re not just thinking about what today’s players are looking for, but what we can build that will open us up to tournaments or even professional events.”
In Chesterfield County, there are facilities at the Chesterfield Career and Technical Center, Harry G. Daniel Park, R. Garland Dodd Park, Huguenot Park and Rockwood Park. There are also classes starting from $49 throughout the week, including several taught by Scott.
“When I teach a group of people, everybody is laughing and carrying on,” she says. “They’re always so happy to play.”
Find pickleball courts near you at pickleheads.com.
