The growing sport of pickleball is having a moment in the St. Louis area.
More than 400 amateur and professional players are at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park for the Association of Pickleball Players鈥� Sunmed St. Louis Open.
鈥淚t'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,鈥� explained Mike Chapin, a pickleball enthusiast and certified coach who operates .
Chapin doesn鈥檛 have an official association with this week鈥檚 tournament 鈥� he just loves pickleball. And, he鈥檚 largely responsible for after he became interested in the sport in 2014.
鈥淚've never seen a sport where a grandchild and a grandparent can be physical and play on the same court together,鈥� Chapin said. 鈥淭his 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.鈥�
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 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 .
Other pickleball venues slated to open later this year include Real Dill in Chesterfield and Chicken N Pickle in St. Charles. recently ranked St. Louis as the sixth-best pickleball city in the country.
鈥淲e're ecstatic about the growth,鈥� Chapin said. 鈥淪t. Louis is definitely a hotbed for people wanting to come here and play pickleball.鈥�
To hear more from Mike Chapin about the growth of pickleball in St. Louis and to , listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast by clicking the play button below.
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by , , , and . is our production intern. The audio engineer is . Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
