The growing sport of pickleball is having a moment in the St. Louis area.
More than 400 amateur and professional players are competing this week at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park for the Association of Pickleball Players’ Sunmed St. Louis Open.
“It's a terrific opportunity for anybody in the area to go to Forest Park to see some top professional pickleball players compete for money prizes,” explained Mike Chapin, a pickleball enthusiast and certified coach who operates StLouisPickleball.com.
Chapin doesn’t have an official association with this week’s tournament — he just loves pickleball. And, he’s largely responsible for getting pickleball off the ground in St. Louis after he became interested in the sport in 2014.
“I've never seen a sport where a grandchild and a grandparent can be physical and play on the same court together,” Chapin said. “This is a game I can really play for a long time, and when I started to look in my neighborhood, in the south city area, there were parks with unused tennis courts and the opportunity to create change.”
In south St. Louis alone, seven city parks have pickleball courts, including Carondelet Park, Tower Grove Park and Benton Park.
There are other well-established places to play pickleball in the area. The Missouri Pickleball Club in Fenton is one such place that has 18 courts. A newer venue that opened this summer in Lake St. Louis in a former Bed Bath & Beyond and that features nine courts is Paddle Up Pickleball Club.
Other pickleball venues slated to open later this year include Real Dill in Chesterfield and Chicken N Pickle in St. Charles. LawnLove.com recently ranked St. Louis as the sixth-best pickleball city in the country.
“We're ecstatic about the growth,” Chapin said. “St. Louis is definitely a hotbed for people wanting to come here and play pickleball.”
To hear more from Mike Chapin about the growth of pickleball in St. Louis and to revisit our conversation with pickleball champion Teri Clemens, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Ulaa Kuziez is our production intern. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
