The Great Racquet Swap – Why Tennis Players Are Embracing Pickleball

When 4 of Chennai’s main membership tennis gamers Vikram Seshasayee, Sooraj Viswanathan, G Rajesh and B Venkteshwar met up in November 2024, it was to not focus on tennis. The 4 of them had been in remaining discussions about placing up Chennai Picklersss by Sports Den, a cutting-edge indoor Pickleball facility at Porur that will be open to the general public round the clock.

In current years, a rising development has emerged on this planet of racquet sports activities. Tennis gamers, from professionals to leisure fans, are more and more buying and selling of their tennis rackets for pickleball paddles. One revealing statistic is that out of 144 gamers presently listed on the Professional Pickleball Association Tour, 130 of them have some degree of tennis background.

Indian tennis legend, Ramesh Krishnan says “Pickleball is the brand new fad. There is loads of pleasure round it and it’s definitely on its means up. There is nice potential for the game to develop.” Ram Sukumar, CEO of Indium and veteran tennis participant on the Chennai membership circuit agrees says that having performed tennis for 37 years, he was initially sceptical about pickleball. he provides, “When discussions began 18 months in the past so as to add pickleball courts at our membership, I discovered the game intriguing however a little bit odd—a mixture of tennis and desk tennis that I assumed was principally for older gamers.”

However, after taking part in it commonly for the previous 6 months, Ram says that it has began to develop on him. “While I’ll all the time stay a tennis purist at coronary heart, I’ve come to understand pickleball for what it’s: a sport with low entry obstacles, enjoyable to play, and accessible to individuals with out formal coaching. Hand-eye coordination sports activities like pickleball are implausible for train.”

Less bodily affect

Tennis is a high-intensity sport that requires fast actions, fast adjustments of route, and explosive energy. Pickleball, then again, is usually much less bodily demanding, making it a sexy choice for tennis gamers who could also be trying to cut back the affect on their our bodies.

Vikram Seshasayee, captain of the the Madras Club tennis workforce says, “Over the final many a long time we’ve seen a lot of our tennis buddies fully cease taking part in tennis as a consequence of accidents or as a result of they discovered the game too tiring as they received older. Aside from being simpler to be taught than tennis, pickleball can also be slower-paced and requires much less floor to cowl.”

Current Davis Cup Player and India No. 3, Ramkumar Ramanathan says he has performed Pickleball a few instances. He provides, “Touch and really feel is the frequent issue between the 2 sports activities and I see many tennis gamers getting concerned in Pickleball because it’s a enjoyable sport.”

Accessibility and affordability

Pickleball’s accessibility and affordability are additionally main attracts for tennis gamers. Pickleball courts are sometimes simpler to seek out and entry than tennis courts, as pickleball courts don’t require a lot house and are simpler and cheaper to arrange. For space-constrained cities, it is a massive benefit. Inclusivity and ease of setup have performed an enormous function in its fast adoption

The U.S. Tennis Association says that 10 per cent of courts in America have already been taken over or repainted for the reason that pickleball increase started. For non-public golf equipment, pickleball makes business sense as the identical court docket that accommodates as much as 4 paying prospects for a doubles tennis match might be carved up into a minimum of two and upto 4 separate pickleball courts, which means that golf equipment can cost extra gamers to lease the identical actual property. All it takes to transform a court docket from tennis to pickleball is just a few dabs of paint.

Now, extra neighborhood facilities, parks, and retirement communities have pickleball courts, making it simpler for gamers to discover a recreation. Additionally, pickleball tools like paddles and balls are cheaper than tennis tools.

Ram Sukumar says,” The sport’s accessibility is a significant factor. Equipment is reasonably priced, with paddles starting from $30 (Rs. 2700) to $300 (Rs. 27,000), and it’s simple to select up the game while not having in depth teaching and coaching. Players of all ability ranges can begin taking part in immediately, making it a social, inclusive exercise. Compared to tennis or badminton, pickleball is much less bodily demanding on the similar time gamers get a very good exercise, which makes it interesting throughout age teams.”

Making the swap

Several skilled tennis gamers have already made the swap to pickleball. Andre Agassi, the previous world No. 1 has turn into a world ambassador for pickleball, which is beginning to take off in an enormous means in India, China and the remainder of Asia. Tennis legends John McEnroe, Steffi Graf, Andy Roddick, Michael Chang and Maria Sharapova amongst others have additionally been identified to play the sport.

“These gamers have all been paid handsomely to advertise pickleball”, says Ramesh Krishnan.

Mukund Sasikumar, present Indian Davis Cup Player and India no. 2 says, “Retired tennis legends have quite a lot of time and positively need to keep lively with one thing much less bodily than tennis. The options of each tennis and pickleball are fairly comparable as a result of the physique movement is generally from all the way down to up, each video games are really feel primarily based and each require hand eye coordination.”

Ram Sukumar provides that it’s not simply retired legends taking part in the sport now. He says, “Even lively tennis gamers like Jack Sock, Donald Young, Sam Querrey, and Eugenie Bouchard are embracing pickleball. For them, the obstacles to entry are minimal, and the boldness of excelling in an analogous sport is an enormous draw. It’s a pure match, and that’s why we’re seeing so many tennis professionals choosing up the paddle.”

The Future Of Pickle Ball

Ram Sukumar says, “I see a vivid future for pickleball. Growth will come by way of structured leagues and tournaments throughout international locations, together with better-organized associations just like tennis. Creating tiered programs and strong rating mechanisms—each globally and nationally—might be key to long-term success.”

As Pickleball is a comparatively younger sport there are quite a lot of rule improvements taking place, designed to make the game sooner, extra strategic, and interesting for gamers and followers says Vikram Seshasayee. He provides, “In the World Pickle Ball League an modern format, conceptualized by former Indian tennis gamers Gaurav Natekar and Arati Ponnappa Natekar, has been a powerful success amongst gamers and followers. The introduction of 15-minute timed matches ensures that the video games are fast-paced and spectator pleasant.”

“I hope Pickleball and Tennis can praise one another,” Ramesh Krishnan says, including that pickleball might be a perfect place to begin for kids who will then “hopefully graduate to tennis.”

Chennai Picklersss by Sports Den, at Kimberly Garden, Pallavaram Road, Kolapakkam, might be open 24 x7 and can have three indoor pickleball courts in addition to a retailer for tools and equipment. Call +91 98402 94518

Published – February 10, 2025 01:01 pm IST