SUN CITY—There appears to be a long-running contention between the Pickleball and Tennis clubs ever since the Pickleball Club was established in Sun City back in 2006.
In its early days, the Sun City Pickleball Club had to share time on two of the eight tennis courts at the formerly named Tall Oaks Tennis Center with members of the Tennis Club.
Despite negotiation efforts by past leaders of both clubs, there appeared to always be constant tension and controversy amongst pickleball and tennis players in Sun City, according to a My Sun Day News story from 2017.
With the Pickleball Club boasting an impressive 500 members to date, it was no wonder that one of Sun City’s past Board of Directors agreed to permanently convert two of the tennis courts at the Tall Oaks Courts into eight pickleball courts, which were officially debuted in 2018.
Since that time, interest and growth in pickleball has only continued to skyrocket which prompted the Pickleball Club to begin putting together a proposal to expand to another tennis court. Last year, the Sun City Board received data points from a study that was set up in June 2021 to examine the usage of the tennis and pickleball courts with the help of cameras that were installed at the Tall Oaks Courts. An Ad Hoc committee was tasked with deciding what next steps would be taken in regards to the Pickleball Club’s request for more courts.
According to current Pickleball Club President Pam White, their original proposal to reallocate one of the tennis courts to a pickleball court was not approved by Sun City’s Board of Directors at the most recent meeting, however, a new proposal was submitted by the Pickleball Club.
“The board agreed that one of the courts would be able to be shared amongst the two clubs,” said White. “I’m really happy about that. [It] doesn’t probably solve all our problems, but it certainly is a move in the right direction. We’re thrilled to add some more room for our members.”
Since pickleball courts are smaller than tennis courts, new boundary markings must be placed on the shared tennis court, which White says is not a difficult task for the Pickleball Club to undertake.
“So, typically one tennis court can be changed into four pickleball courts. So, with the help of the management here, we’re going to find someone to come out and stripe [the court]. It’s really not that big of a deal. Just using a different color. That’s what I mean. It’s a win-win situation for the residents here in Del Webb if you ask me. You can still have all those fun tennis opportunities as well as our pickleball opportunities,” she said.
White added that the Pickleball Club will be paying any costs associated with painting new boundary lines on the shared tennis court.
When asked if there is still controversy in having to share the courts among the two clubs, White responded with, “No. You know what, I’ve worked really hard in the last couple of years to take that away. I love tennis myself. I don’t play it, but I totally enjoy watching Wimbledon [and] like everybody else, get up in the morning to watch it. These are our golden years and so everybody should be entitled to enjoy their hobby. So, we have worked real hard to get along with tennis.”
She continued, “I want to say on behalf of the Pickleball Club, we are more than willing to share.”
White stated that approximately 50 Pickleball Club members are also members of the Tennis Club, which is another point that inspires her to do everything within her power to make positive experiences among the members.
