Zack Decker, 29, who used to play tennis at D.C.'s Jefferson Field Courts all the time, said he is too nervous to tell the pickleball players to pack up their nets. So he’s stopped coming to play.
“I think they just feel threatened because we are taking over,” D.C. Pickleball League co-founder Maya Ben-David said of the tennis players.Ben-David, who works in real estate, was among volunteers lobbying the mayor’s office for a solution: “Hopefully more dedicated pickleball courts.”administration of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has said
Now, the city is poised to have 14, alongside the dozens of other existing, multipurpose courts with blended lines.“We recognize that pickleball is not tennis, so we are respectful to those who play both sports,” DPR Interim Director Thennie Freeman said in a statement to The Washington Post. “We have made it a priority to educate both sports about the other.”Pickleball often draws comparisons to tennis and badminton.
that pickleball is banned on the outdoor tennis courts. DPR does not allow pickleball to be played in locations that do not have pickleball lines, an official said, and the department does not issue permits for pickleball.