Stuff You Might Have Missed

Here are a few points of interest in case you missed them. First, there is a move afoot to begin a women’s pickleball organization. Kim Becker and Lori Redding approached Chris Kader and the Court Sports Committee about formalizing a format exclusively for women. The group is called The Women’s Pickleball Organization (WPO). They currently have four courts reserved for Thursday mornings at 8:30. The first time they played, 30 women showed up, and there will be more as word gets out. Eventually, Kim hopes to have additional courts on other days. For more information, email wpodink@gmail.com. More about WPO as it develops.

Landings Club picklers who use Luzz paddles, including the appropriately named “Cannon”, take note. The paddle has been removed from the United Pickleball of America list of approved paddles. It’s not a surprise. UPA-A, the ruling pickleball body, has been in the process of culling paddles that are designed to give users too much power. As Luzz boasts, “The Cannon is proven to increase explosive power by an impressive 35%...... Your smashes explode like cannonballs, decisively overwhelming your opponents.” According to APA-A President Jason Aspes, violating the rules has consequences. “Our commitment to protecting the integrity of pickleball is absolute.”

Both Mark Medinger and Eric Verman, have shared with me that they wear protective glasses when they play pickleball. I’m sure others do as well. It is important to note that even approved paddles have explosive power. According to Alex Fox, some of our elite players hit shots in excess of seventy miles per hour. The chance of injury is great enough that the UPA recently enacted a regulation fining professional tournament players $5,000 for headshots. More and more Landings Club players are protecting their eyes. Face it picklers, getting hit in the eye by a ball going more than fifty miles an hour is probably going to do damage. Be smart, visit the pro shop and pick up a pair of protective glasses.

Betsey Andersen recently forwarded an article posted on The Pickleball Clinic, which bills itself as pickleball’s largest online community. According to the article, the founders of PURE Pickleball & Padel are building a 186,000 square foot facility called PURE, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The facility will feature 48 indoor pickleball courts, 2 padel courts, a 1,200-seat pro pickleball arena, a sports recovery center and more. PURE is scheduled to open in mid-2026. As Betsey says, “Come on Savannah, that boarded up Bed, Bath & Beyond on Abercorn has been closed for more than a year. It is begging for pickleball.”

Tim Sampson points out that Florida won the 2025 APP Collegiate Pickleball Championships in Cape Coral, Florida, nosing out Texas in a very close match. Thirty-two teams from around the country competed for three days. This is newsworthy as it is a big step for pickleball, perhaps indicating NCAA varsity status is on the horizon.

Savannah Pickleball Academy

Finally, the much-anticipated Savannah Pickleball Academy is finally a reality. For details, visit their Facebook page or their website at https://tbpickleball.com/savannah.