Noise issues aside, some tennis players have spoken out over access to local tennis courts, fearful about losing court space to upstart pickleball players.
Janet Martini, a retired doctor, who fell in love with pickleball two years ago when she took a few classes at a local community centre, said: “We don’t want to take anything away from tennis players. All we want is courts. We’ve lost six courts in the last two years.” president Nick Tchernikov said rumours of a turf war are overblown: “We are not against anybody, and we welcome more people playing sports. Pickleball is a great alternative for people who are no longer playing tennis.”“We want to be able to meet the demand for tennis. There are inadequate tennis facilities in the city, and the facilities are inadequately maintained,” said Tchernikov.