Your Serve: Players Talk Pickleball
March 27, 2025
A friend recently gave me a coffee mug that has this printed on it, “Things I do in my spare time.” Beneath that it says, “Play Pickleball,” “Watch Others Play Pickleball,” “Research Pickleball,” “Talk About Pickleball,” “Think About Pickleball,” and “Dream About Pickleball.”
That about sums it up.
So when I posted a request in the pickleball groups on Facebook called “Pickleball Forum” and “Pickleball Clinic” for volunteers to answer a few questions for this week’s blog, I was not surprised that I was swamped with replies, and I appreciate it.
I like to turn this column over periodically to pickleball players to provide their input on certain aspects of the game. We haven’t done this in a while, so here goes.
Mary Ann Teshima, 63, Manitowoc, WI, 3.5 DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating), playing for two years.
Question: “What do you like about playing pickleball?”
Mary Ann: “The friendships, the exercise, the adrenaline. I love the fact that we cheer each other on.” Mary Ann added, “In addition to being physically active again, I have made some marvelous friends through our club. One lady who joined had lived in our town for eight years but knew no one. She had never played pickleball before but just wanted to find out about it and hoped to get to know some people. Now we are great friends and get together occasionally outside of pickleball.”
Q: “What do you like least about it?”
A: “I wish we played more.”
Q: “There is currently an explosion in the number of dedicated indoor pickleball clubs that have opened recently or will open soon. Will you join one and if so would you be willing to pay $100 per month to be a member?”
A: “I have joined one. The price is less than $100 a month for couples membership. If it went over $100, I suppose we’d probably pay it. I only play indoors, I’m spoiled! I don’t like dealing with the wind, bugs and balls getting lost in the sun.”
Q: “When there are a lot of players waiting, do you play traditional side-out scoring games to 11, play to 9 or use rally scoring?”
A: “I’ve never used anything other than regular scoring, games to 11, except once in a while when we have a large group.” Mary Ann said in that case the group plays to 11, win by 1.”
Q: “How many paddles have you bought and how many do you currently own?”
A: “I’ve bought probably 10 since playing and currently I own four. Our club has an array of about 40 demo paddles that people can use at no cost.”
Dave Dodds, 40, Seaford, NY, 3.5 DUPR, playing for eight months.
On what Dave likes most about pickleball:
“Rec pickleball can be whatever you want it to be, from friendly and easy fun to tough competition. And even when the games are tough, there’s always opportunities to make new friends.”
On what he likes least:
“The most frustrating thing about rec play is the many people who don’t know where they are. It’s pretty easy to get a read on the sort of play going on in rec games, and yet it’s not uncommon to encounter the hyper-competitive players that take it more seriously than everyone else on the court, or the super casual fun-only type who creeps into the more high-octane sessions.”
On the biggest changes he’s seen:
“More and more tennis players are starting to play pickleball which brings with it much more driving and banging at certain levels. It’s a fun challenge and forces players out of their comfort zones if they want to compete.”
On joining an indoor pickleball club:
“I am a member of a few local clubs with very low membership rates. Membership at these places only offers slightly discounted rates and earlier booking for courts and events. I'd be open to a $100 per month fee if it included free programs and court time for members.”
Q: How many paddles have you bought and how many do you currently own?
A: “I’ve purchased around 19 paddles, though 10 of them were included in "mystery boxes" that my son and I bought simply out of curiosity and we've sold or given many of them away. Does that count? If we're talking about just paddles that I bought with the intent to play, it's nine and I still have six.
Jason Walker, 38, Columbus, OH, 3.8 DUPR, playing for two years.
“What I like most about playing is all types of players [are in rec play] from beginner to advanced and all are welcome. Love helping out beginners and always up for some competition on advance courts.”
On what Jason likes least:
“Over the years it has become strictly who can speed up first or a bangers club, especially when you get right around the 4.0 [level].”
On the biggest changes he’s seen:
“Biggest change I have seen is less strategy as in strictly banging at the kitchen and fire fights. But this has a lot to do with the evolving of all the technology that has been put in paddles over the last 1-2 years, it is crazy. Down to the core, thickness, and surface and surface layup. As well as the tweaking you can do with tungsten weight and now Flick and Slyce caps and weights.”
On traditional, side-out scoring vs. rally scoring:
“I hate rally scoring, it makes the game go by too fast, seems too quick and can’t come up with a strategy against your opponent.”
On joining an indoor club:
“I am already a member of an indoor pickleball club and I pay $12 a week.”
On how many paddles he’s bought and owns:
“Over the two years I have bought and tested over 100 paddles and currently own five.
Jennifer Kahler, 52, Lakewood Ranch, Fl, 4.0 DUPR, playing for 2.5 years.
On what she likes most:
“Meeting new people, being able to play anywhere, when I visit places it is easy to connect with the pickleball community and find some play. They are always welcoming and it's easy to find play anywhere. I play in a good amount of tournaments, a tournament is a great reason for a weekend getaway.”
On what she likes least:
“Not having enough time to play.”
On the biggest changes she has seen:
“The explosion of youth playing. I work at an elementary school where I have a pickleball club. I’ve also served as the Youth Impact Director for the Play for Life Foundation. Our foundation was able to get pickleball into over 40 schools in Sarasota and Manatee counties. I have two daughters, one at Florida State and the other at the University of Florida. Pickleball has taken the college scene by storm. On any given night, instead of hitting the bars, you can find college students playing pickleball.”
(Great answer, Jennifer, and great job getting pickleball into so many schools!)
On whether she would pay $100 a month to join a dedicated indoor club:
“No, I have 16 beautiful lit courts in my neighborhood. Working full time, I usually play at night when the temps are cooler. When it rains my body could usually use a day of rest anyway.”
On traditional scoring vs. rally scoring:
“At public courts we always play to 11. I have never used rally scoring with the exception of two tournaments where they fell behind in the schedule and were trying to catch up, so they switched over to rally scoring. No one was happy.
“I do not like rally scoring personally it gives me anxiety, lol.”
Matt Baker, 47, Hendersonville, NC, 4.0 DUPR, playing for seven months.
(Matt’s niece is professional pickleball player Kate Fahey, currently ranked 2nd in the PPA’s women’s singles rankings behind Anna Leigh Waters. Kate introduced Matt to pickleball when she gave him a paddle and some instruction).
On what Matt likes most about pickleball:
“My favorite part of playing pickleball is scratching that competitive itch of a former athlete. I was an all-state baseball player in Arizona in high school and was planning on playing at Arizona State before an injury derailed that. Close behind that is the social aspect. We moved here about a year ago and it’s very nice to get that community in a new place.”
On whether he’d pay $100 a month to play at an indoor club:
“Yes, I would absolutely pay $100 to join a pickleball club. One of the biggest frustrations with pickleball is being able to find indoor games without a ton of waiting. Also, having to mix with lower-level players at open play is fine for a while, but gets frustrating after a while. I don’t have as much time to play as I’d like, so getting good games is important.”
On what his group does when many players are waiting:
“We’ve tried to play to nine, but have had people that don’t like that, so they just won’t comply. Stopped trying at that point. I like rally scoring every once in a while. It definitely changes the game though. I find that people (and myself) tend to ‘take points off’ [in regular scoring]. In rally scoring the penalty is large, so the pressure is ratcheted up and play becomes a little more risk averse.”
On how many paddles he’s owned:
“I’m a gear nerd in every sport I’ve ever played. I’ve purchased six paddles in six months and still have four of them. Usually game one of two depending on the ball type.”
Thank you Mary Ann, Dave, Jason, Jennifer and Matt for your time, and happy pickling! I hope you will continue to read this weekly column and tell your friends about it!
Thoughts of the week, not all pickleball
· RIP George Foreman, who died last Friday at 76. His family has not announced the cause of his death. Foreman was an Olympic gold medalist in 1964 and two-time heavyweight champion. He’s better known to those who didn’t follow boxing or in the younger generation as the pitchman who made millions from the George Foreman Grill.
· The new CNN documentary on Christopher Reeve, aka “Superman,” is riveting, poignant and tragic.
· Whether you agree with his politics or not, if you know anything about what constitutes good writing, Charles Pierce is one of America’s great writers on politics and sports.
· I find it funny when I see a pickleball player who I know is a 3.25, or at best a 3.5, rating themselves 3.75 on Playtime Scheduler so they can sign up for sessions limited to players rated at least 3.75. It’s also unfair to players who rate themselves honestly and thus cannot play with the higher-level group.
· I like rally scoring when many pickleball players are waiting. Why shouldn’t the team that wins every rally get a point?
· I’m always somewhat surprised and frustrated when I see pickleball players who are not total beginners fail to come up to within an inch of the non-volley zone line. They stay in no-man’s land or even worse back by the baseline for the entire match.
· Baseball season is upon us, when every team is 0-0 and hope springs eternal. Unless you’re a fan of the White Sox, Angels, Marlins, Nationals, Rockies and a few others.
Remember, if you buy any Hudef paddle that costs $169.99, use my discount code MS30 to knock down the price by 30%, to $119.99. Any less expensive paddle, the code is MS15, giving you 15% off.