Monday, February 9, 2026 (Court Day #901)

The weather was changing today. Yesterday was warm and mostly sunny. Today, it was overcast and slightly lower temperatures and breezy.

Val, one of our board members, suggested last month that the pickleball club rotate the location of our board meetings. We held today’s board meeting at Derby Park, which is closer to Val‘s house than the standard Brommer Park location.

Derby Park

I walked on the path into the park at 10:09 a.m. It was unusual for me to hear the schoolchildren out playing at recess given that I’m only very rarely at Derby Park on a weekday that is not a holiday.

Games

The bright side of playing at Derby Park today was that I was going from game to game to game. There was virtually no waiting. At one point, I did wait 5 or 10 minutes for Eric Schmidt to get off of the court, but that was only because it’s been a while since I’ve seen Eric—my former tournament partner—and I wanted to get into a game with him.

Eric and I teamed up together against a young skinny guy with long hair named Leo. Leo partnered up with a regular named Sam. I don’t know Sam well and I hadn’t seen Sam in many months and had to ask his name.

Eric and I were down 2-6. Given that he and I had one gold medals together, I was expecting our performance to be strong. Eric was complaining about having a bad day playing. As the game went on, I continued to get warmed up and Eric dialed back his errors. We ended up coming back and taking the lead and then taking the win. I would have been very disappointed had we lost!

Leo is a mishmash of really great shots but also unforced errors. He does have quick hands, I will definitely give him that.

Meeting

Shortly after noon, I stopped play to attend the club board meeting. There is no major news to report on the SCPC front.

Friday, February 13, 2026 (No Play)

It feels like it has been a while since I’ve played, four days to be precise. It feels weird. It was raining and what would have otherwise normally been my Tuesday pickleball night. And Last night, Thursday, I had another nonprofit board meeting.

Pickleball Mockumentary

A trailer has come out for a new (pickleball) “mockumentary”.

Generally, trailers pick out the best part of a movie to make it look good. This still looked bad. Really bad. Really, really bad. I have no idea how it will be released, if it will be released, and if it’s actually a movie or not. Given the high production value of the trailer, it looks legit. But, boy, it looks really bad.

Couple Fight

This past weekend, an older couple in Port Orange, Florida, got into it on a pickleball court when the husband, Anthony Sapienza, accused his opponent of a kitchen fault. His opponent denied the violation and it escalated over time into brawl sending people to the hospital.

Really? On a Sunday morning? People! It’s a game!

Sapienza and his wife Julianne were arrested after they left the country club where the altercation had taken place.

Here’s an NBC news article about it:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-pickleball-brawl-involving-20-people-results-paddles-face-felo-rcna258969

And a central Florida news report:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUqVnwIETdu

Ball Testing

It’s always interesting to me to see pickleballs and paddles impacting in slow motion. Here’s a comparison of the Franklin X (the local favorite) and the much newer Lifetime ball which I’ve heard rumors of being more “lively”:
https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/comparing-life-time-and-franklin-pickleballs-in-slow-motion

Saturday, February 14, 2026 (No Play)

So, my drug joke comment on a post gets deleted by Instagram (see my recent posts), but Jeannie Buchard’s in a video gets to stay. It’s not fair!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUwOmfviRBI

Monday, February 16, 2026 (No Play)

According to The Dink, the number of brands and models of paddles approved through USA Pickleball dropped significantly in 2025 from 2024:
2021: 107 brands, 302 models
2022: 177 brands, 477 models
2023: 449 brands, 995 models
2024: 564 brands, 1,277 models
2025: 356 brands, 891 models
That’s a pretty steep reduction. According to my calculations, that’s a 37% drop in the number of brands and a 30% drop in the number of paddles. The USAP did significantly alter the requirements and added more tests to pass. This, no doubt, played a big role.

Manufacturing

Updated today (coincidence), is this report on pickleball equipment manufacturing by Market Reports World:
https://www.marketreportsworld.com/market-reports/pickleball-equipment-market-14718660

Equipment manufacturers have responded to this surge by increasing paddle production capacity by nearly 45% in 2023, reaching over 12.5 million paddles produced worldwide. The average lifespan of a pickleball paddle is 10–12 months for frequent players, contributing to high repurchase rates.

Over 5,000 retail outlets across the U.S. now offer pickleball gear, while online sales account for 57% of total equipment purchases. By 2024, more than 4,500 public and private facilities offer pickleball programs, increasing the demand for standardized nets, paddles, and balls. Professional tournaments have also grown, with over 400 events held globally in 2023, requiring consistent supply of certified equipment. The average cost of a performance paddle ranges from $80 to $150, while balls cost $2 to $3 per unit. With over 2 million new first-time buyers in 2023, this market is showing strong momentum in terms of player adoption, commercial sales, and infrastructural development.

I found this interesting…

Despite the sport’s rising popularity, the market faces limitations in the availability of indoor, climate-controlled pickleball venues. As of 2024, less than 30% of pickleball games are played indoors, primarily due to the high capital costs of facility conversion. The average cost of converting an indoor gymnasium into a pickleball facility is $80,000–$120,000, which discourages smaller clubs and schools. Consequently, seasonal variation in player activity affects paddle and shoe sales, especially in colder regions. Retailers in the Midwest and Northern Europe reported a 15% drop in Q1 2023 sales due to weather-related usage declines. This seasonal inconsistency creates inventory management challenges for distributors and impacts overall market fluidity.

Overall, there are a number of interesting statistics in the article.

Number of days on a court: 901
Number of total hours: 3,387.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 197.5

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