Come play tennis sometime.
 

For those of us that love tennis and the cardio that goes along with the game, we ask - why there are not enough tennis courts, especially clay.

If you like pball so much, the 2 pball courts in DeLuna are empty all the time.

Pickleball and tennis are two fundamentally different games--about as different as, say, soccer and hockey. The goal of both may be the same--score by getting the puck or ball into your opponent's net--but the similarity pretty much ends there. The games require fundamentally different skill sets, just like pickleball and tennis.

My wife and I are avid tennis players. We still play, particularly on the har-tru courts at Lopez. We've managed to remain pretty much injury-free over the years, but we've both known tennis players, some much younger than us, who have tried to play pickleball and have suffered some serious arm, shoulder and back issues as a result. Hitting a tennis ball is pretty different than hitting that whiffleball in pickleball games.

Adding Pickleball lines to a tennis court ruins, the tennis court I can’t tell if the ball is in or out with all those lines.
Build more Pickleball courts!!

:BigApplause: Finally someone who put a little thought into an perceived issue. The issue is not more of anything here in The Villages, it is the timing of when people are wanting to use the respective facilities. Finding a tee time in the morning, restaurants between 4:30-6:00, workout in the gym and on & on. Change your time and you can have all the access you want. Now it may be warmer but you did move to Florida or it may cause you to change your daily schedule but the issue is not a need for more courts.

Maybe an online reservation system for pickle ball courts that would show people where and when the vacancies are?

Not true! You can be good at either or be bad at either. Tennis is much harder on your arm/elbow than Pickleball. You got a long racquet in tennis that puts a lot of strain on your arm/elbow that's why you see strings and racquets made specifically to help ease the pain. I have played many decades in USTA tennis, years of Pickleball, decades of table tennis and decades of racquetball. You really can't say 1 is easier over the other to master.
Playing 2-3 hours of any of these sports, I would say racquetball is more stressing on the body. Smaller court but much faster and you normally play singles. Tennis, most of us now play doubles and most of the players that I've seen here are 3.5 so not much speed or heavy serves.
Pickleball here you have a wide range of players from beginners to 5.0 and most play is doubles.
Also, the click/clack noise of Pickleball comes from a hard ball with a hard paddle, which tennis and racquetball are played with strings and a softer ball. Table tennis you have rubber skins do that deadens the ball sound, but if you go back to sandpaper paddles, you will get a similar noise as Pickleball.
Another benefit of Pickleball is that it is much more fun/socializing to play than the other sports mentioned here. Tennis doesn't provide players to jump in every 11 point game like Pickleball so you normally play with the 4 players you come with. Table tennis and racquetball you are playing singles and if you do rotate, it still isn't a social game as Pickleball.

Tennis courts are empty in the afternoons as well. The reason is the heat. Any court player will not play at 2 pm or on in July. Changing the time you play is not a viable option in the afternoon heat. People play pickleball and tennis in the morning and golf after that, as golf is not as enervating as running around a court under hot sun.

Rohan's head is in the clouds if he thinks there are enough pickleball courts in TV. Hopefully after Brady & friends build their PB center on 466 (at $1K+ dues per year), many people will opt for that, opening up some space for others, especially in the 7-9 am spot.

They could go to a reservation system the way they do in golf. But they don't seem interested in providing that service, even if people paid a monthly fee like they do for golf. What a money-maker: install software and sit back.

Well the new private pickleball courts are coming. The last tennis player I saw was hitting the ball off roof of the rec center and into the pool

More pb courts
 

The courts are pretty empty in the afternoon. If you know if courts available in the am during open play, it would be mice to tell others.

I was a ranked tennis player who once played David Wheaten who played singles and doubles on the tour and at Wimbledon. And I gave tennis lessons. So I have a resume in tennis that gives me some expertise. And I know several Villagers that had to give up pickleball because of wrist injuries brought about by the "wristy" aspects of pickleball. Most arm injuries brought about by both tennis and pickleball are because of the use of the one-hand backhand, which is 100% of the time for pickleball.

Also, physics and common sense come into play. Because it just makes sense that a racket with a shorter handle is MORE likely to be swung in a "whippy" fashion - thus breaking the wrist MORE and causing MORE injuries. Also, the greater NOISE of a hard plastic pickleball hitting an INFEXIBLE pickle racket versus the SOFT sound of a rubber-based tennis ball hitting a STRINGED TENNIS RACKET - PROVES the greater INJURY potential of pickleball.

That is the same point that I was making. Pickleball is an easy game to learn, but it is an INJURY TRAP for seniors. Playing on a Har-Tru clay tennis surface is way easier on the ankles and knees than hard court (like all pickleball courts here), but it is expensive because of high maintenance costs. Pickleball can't be played on a clay surface because the PLASTIC ball would NOT bounce up. Pickleball can be played as they do up north in the winter on WOOD basketball courts. My suggestion to TV Land seniors is that they forget pickleball and play soft tennis, which is played on a pickleball-sized court. It is a better game than pickleball and has fewer arm injuries.
........Also, as a suggestion, The Villages could make clay tennis courts out of the yellow clay used for the softball field infields and let the tennis players maintain them. It would be worth trying.

I saw some recent data that bears this out.

Aside from arm/wrist injuries, there is a significant danger in pickleball by being hit with the ball. A lot of those exchanges are pretty close quarters and with diminished reflexes a ball to the face could cause an injury. Also there are significant injuries in pickleball caused by people running into each other, falling, etc. Aside from the occasional ball in the face (especially in doubles) I would say that the other injuries mentioned are VERY rare in tennis.

Then they're playing wrong... I also played competitive tennis. You use much more wrist in tennis than in pickleball...

The "SOUND" the ball makes PROVES there is a greater injury potential?

:loco::loco::loco:

ANY new sport is an injury trap for seniors...

And you expect those same seniors to maintain clay courts?

Once again, :loco::loco::loco:

Ever play doubles tennis? Ever get accidentally hit with your partner's racquet? Ever het hit by a 120 mph overhead slam?

Some of what is said in this post I consider to be true. I would humbly add that tennis players with a 2 handed backhand rarely have arm problems. And one-handed backhand players with excellent technique rarely have arm problems. It is the one-handed beginners and players with the bad techniques that experience arm problems. Also, stiff tennis rackets are bad for seniors.

Now, as far as pickleball being the most sociable of the 4 racket sports mentioned (note we have left out badminton, which has great popularity worldwide). A player can play any of the racket sports in a "hit and giggle"
manner or in a super serious manner. It's NOT the game, it is the attitude. And I am NOT knocking the "hit and giggle" concept, especially for seniors. I have seen too many people of all ages get TOO serious and TENSE when playing, especially singles.

Yes.

No (I have pretty quick reflexes and my partner(s) pretty much know what they're doing)

Once. Can't vouch for the speed of the slam but I caught it on the shoulder. Had a red mark for a day or two.

Beach/Sand Tennis, Platform Tennis and Touch Tennis on the platform courts are other options.

Beach Tennis is similar to Badminton but with paddle and delayed tennis ball. And the sand make things safer.


The platform courts are good for drilling Pickleball.

There are Pickleball paddle/ball combinations that make much less noise than traditional products.

45 years of tennis. Hit by the ball many times. Hit by others rackets a few but many times I hit myself with the follow thru with my racket. Many aches, pains and injuries. I sure do miss playing.

Good luck junior member. This has been proposed many times. The official response from the recreation department is that they can't remove an existing amenity. I don't think they want to hear the yelling from the tennis players.

No, have never been hit by a partner's racket in doubles. If I were playing with a beginner or a less than experienced partner, I would keep my eye on where they were and keep my distance. As to "ever being hit by overheads".....yes, OFTEN because I was often at the net, but NEVER in the eyes. I would be quick enough to turn my head and shoulders. Getting hit anywhere in the body would never faze me one bit. I played football in high school. And I have gotten hit harder by softballs than tennis balls.
...........I would be MUCH more worried about getting hit by a pickleball in the eye. If I often played pickleball (which I don't.....boring and then there is the childish, "you're in the kitchen rule") .......I would wear sports safety glasses just like racketball players do. Speaking of which, the racketball can hurt when hitting the body much more than a tennis ball.

You suggest wearing "eye protection" when playing pickleball?

Since you don't know, It's required...

Oh, that's right, you've never played... But you profess to be an expert on pickleball injuries...

I don't see any sense in comparing PB with Tennis in this thread. The point was that there are many more PB players HERE than tennis players and that there are long lines at the PB courts waiting their turn to play. Reason? Folks tend to play in the mornings when it's cooler. Heat can be dangerous as you all know, especially for seniors. The only point referring to tennis courts was the possibility to use them for PB. Since that encroaches on tennis playing, that should be ruled out. The only/ONLY answer is to make more PB courts in areas where PB is the most popular. There seems to be plenty of room to expand at most of these rec centers, IF one does not mind taking a bit of the parking area. How one plays PB compared to how they play tennis and how dangerous one sport is compared to another had nothing to do with the OP's subject of long lines at the PB courts.

Well said.
As a tennis player, it doesn't really matter to me as long as they don't take tennis courts away. But I do realize PB is way more popular now. I think the area where you live matters as well. Not all PB courts are packed. But they should build more where the demand is the highest.

The only issue with that is the demand will change over time...

You wind up chasing your tail...

Join a pickleball club.