On Valentine’s Day, 15 singles will be among the passengers setting sail from Port Canaveral, Florida, for a six-night Caribbean cruise. After the cruise they will party for the weekend at a pickleball singles festival at the Crush Yard in Orlando.
They met through pickleball.
Specifically, they met through a group called Pickleball Singles Mingle! (their leader is so exuberant she put an exclamation mark in the title).
Pickleball Singles Mingle! is a group of singles who love pickleball. In less than four years 17,000 members have joined PSM. In tennis, love, of course, means a score of zero. In Pickleball Singles Mingle!, love, sometimes, means love.
Sue Tarkin and Peter Beckel of Niceville, Florida, met through the group in January 2023 (Sue says Niceville, “Really is a nice place to live!”). Sue is a former court reporter who now volunteers for several organizations. The 74-year-old native of Hamilton, Ohio, had been widowed and says she decided to join Pickleball Singles Mingle! because, “It sounded fun to meet more single people who played pickleball. It is a way to meet active people in a healthy, safe environment.”
Peter, 65, has been divorced for almost three decades. The former Minnesota resident says he’s “done a little bit of everything, from salesman, to teacher, to septic system installation,” and now is an options trader, volunteer and, yes, pickleball player.
“This is a great group of pickleballers who want to have fun,” Peter says. “We are older and we all have baggage from previous relationships, but while playing pickleball you are gentle and kind to individuals who are weaker than you, many times helping them improve.”
Six months after they met, Sue and Peter not only improved, they got married.
Pickleball Singles Mingle! has branched out to hold other events besides pickleball tournaments. Tobi Meyer, 53, and Gavin Mason, 62, of The Villages, Florida, got to know each other when they were among 11 group members who went on a hiking trip to Utah three years ago.
Tobi says, “I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight, but I knew Gavin was for me on our hike to Zion National Park on day two or three of our trip.”
Five months after meeting, Tobi moved into Gavin’s home. Last May, they got engaged.
Tobi, an Illinois native, is a loan officer for a bank and had previously tried online dating. “It was not a pleasant experience. I tried it on and off for years and never made a meaningful connection,”
Tobi has been with Pickleball Singles Mingle! since its inception. She’s also a really good pickleball player, with a 4.5 DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating).
Gavin, who’s an IT project manager, says, “I like to meet people who are active.” Gavin is a 4.2 player. They each play six days a week.
Pickleball Singles Mingle! was started in May 2022 by Karen Butera, a retired corporate attorney who lives in Orlando. “We were just coming out of COVID and us single pickleball players had been very isolated through the process,” Karen says. “We wanted to connect in person with other single pickleball people. Single people who share the love and passion for pickleball. There was no mechanism for doing so other than bumping into someone at your local courts. And that’s how Pickleball Singles Mingle! started.”
The group goes on several trips a year and a year ago had 25 members aboard a Caribbean cruise. “It’s the amazing in-person connections that make it a success,” Karen says. “PSM isn’t just for dating, it’s for finding ‘your people’. New deep friendships of all genders, that have deep roots, and are grounded in the common love of pickleball. We are a fun, all inclusive group. You won’t believe how much fun you’ll have at one of our events.”
Karen says any single who wants to join PSM should go to the group’s Facebook page and answer some simple questions. “In order to join, you have to play pickleball, not even well, not be a pro, just play. And be single, not in a committed relationship.”
Peter Beckel, who met his wife Sue Tarkin through the group, says, “The worst that can happen is you might not meet someone you want to spend the rest of your life with…but you may. You will also meet some wonderful people from around the country who have the same likes, dislikes, goals and dreams as yours.”
The cruise ship will have pickleball. Of course it will.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
My thoughts of the week, not all pickleball
· The coaching job done by Indiana University’s Curt Cignetti is the greatest ever in college football. No team was so bad before winning a championship. In the three seasons prior to Cignetti’s 2023 arrival, the Hoosiers went a combined 9-27. They went 11-2 last year and 16-0 this season. The guy says he enjoys a beer now and then. He will never again have to pay for a beer in Indiana.
· Anna Leigh Waters’ signing a long-term clothing and sneaker deal with Nike could be huge for pickleball. Sports advertising execs use the term, “The Nike Effect,” which means the company’s entry into a sport is a major seal of approval, instantly elevating the sport’s status. By signing ALW, Nike signaled to the global market that it believes pickleball has passed the “fad” stage. The contract terms were not disclosed. The partnership was announced days after ALW signed a landmark, long-term paddle deal with Franklin, widely reported to be worth up to $10 million. ALW turned pro when she was 12. She turns 19 on Monday. Happy birthday, indeed.
· I love lists but for a paddle reviewer to say a paddle could be the best of the year two weeks into the year to kind of ridiculous. Yet I have seen it. I get the hyperbole, it’s called “Clickbait” and by the end of 2026 some reviewers will have asked if a bunch of paddles are the “Best of the Year.”
· I see a lot of 3.0-3.5 players using the $333 Selkirk Boomstick. I like to play against them because I know they will hit a lot of pop ups and deep balls since they can’t control the thing.
· I asked a smart 5.0 player if he thinks there’s such a thing as excessive lobbing in rec play. He said absolutely not, that lobs are part of the game, unless the opponent is an older player with mobility issues. He said instead of complaining about having to retrieve a lot of lobs, players should learn how to return them. I agree. And incidentally, the lob is a low percentage shot. How often at rec play do you see it go long or go low and get smashed back?
· Three weeks until pitchers and catchers. Unfortunately, even though the Mets traded for Freddy Peralta this week, I don’t think their starting rotation is deep enough for them to contend.
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