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| Pickleball advocates teach the game to Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw (left) at Wakefield Park. |
That is happening as the tennis courts at Roundtree are being resurfaced as part of a major renovation of the park. Pickleball players will need to bring their own portable pickleball net.
That’s a start, but much more needs to be done, says pickleball advocate Helen Winter. Pickleball is an increasingly popular sport, and demand is rapidly outgrowing capacity.
Winter, the facilitator for Fairfax County Advocates for Pickleball (FCAP) and USA Pickleball district ambassador for Northeast Virginia and Washington, D.C., is urging Fairfax County to install permanent, dedicated pickleball courts in every supervisory district, Winter says.
Related story: Roundtree tennis courts to close for renovation
It’s the vision of FCAP to make Wakefield Park in Annandale “an outstanding pickleball venue,” Winter says. The group met with Park Authority officials and Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw to push their case.
The Park Authority has reconfigured and repainted one of the tennis courts for two pickleball courts, with the tennis net used as a temporary divider at Wakefield Park.
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| The tennis courts at Roundtree Park are being resurfaced and repainted for pickleball. |
But that court has a lot of dead spots where the ball doesn’t bounce, so the court needs to be resurfaced, Winter says.
Tennis courts are 36 feet wide. Pickleball courts are 22 feet wide and use a slightly lower net and a plastic whiffle ball.
Pickleball is also much easier to play than tennis, says White, who teaches the sport at Spring Hill RECenter in McLean and the Burke Racquet and Swim Club. “You can pick up pickleball and become a decent player pretty quickly.”
FCAP recommends courts 9 and 10 at Wakefield be transformed into six dedicated pickleball courts and that court 11 become four dedicated pickleball courts. As a short-term measure, the group urges the county to paint pickleball stripes on tennis courts so they can be used with portable pickleball nets.
Related story: Petition seeks more pickleball courts
There just aren’t enough places to play pickleball in the county. Winter notes that there are always people waiting to play at the four pickleball courts in Van Dyck Park in the City of Fairfax.
There are about 30 outdoor tennis courts in Fairfax County that are being repainted for pickleball. There are also courts at private community pools and recreation clubs, but those have restricted memberships.
FCAP is also pushing for more indoor pickleball courts. There are some at the James Lee Community Center and other places but those courts are temporarily closed due to the COVID pandemic.
Several supervisors are interested in expanding pickleball options, Winter says, but the county won’t proceed until a Park Authority study is completed.