‘They Don’t See It as a Proper Game’- Pickleball Player Slaps ‘Snooty’ Tennis Professionals With a Harsh Reality Check

While tennis is among the most popular sports in the world, it is physically very demanding. Apart from that, the pressure of competition is very high. This is one of the prime reasons why a similar sport called pickleball is getting popular. Pickleball is similar to both tennis and table tennis.

However, the major difference is in the efforts. Pickleball is already gaining a good feat in the US as a good number of tennis players are shifting to the sport. While the sport is relatively newer in the UK, they are also experiencing slow but effective growth in the numbers. The growth of pickleball has offended many tennis stars who are not supportive of pickleball. One of the best pickleball players in the world, Thaddea Lock, had her say about the negative reaction from former tennis stars.

Lock responds to the tennis stars berating pickleball

Thaddea Lock herself is a tennis convert. She very well understands the difference between both sports. While she herself has a job at Wimbledon, she is not happy with the way a few senior tennis stars have reacted to the rise of pickleball. Here’s what she said in an interview with Telegraph.co.uk.

“For those tennis players who haven’t played, I think they are a little bit snooty about it,” she said. Lock further added, “They don’t see it as a proper game. However, it probably wouldn’t surprise you if I told you that probably half of the people that play Pickleball either used to play tennis or still play tennis.”

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While the game might be a rival to the popularity of tennis, it’s sad that a few tennis legends see it as a threat to tennis.

Nick Kyrgios responds to Rennae Stubbs belittling pickleball

Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka are the newest entrants to invest in a pickleball franchise. While a few tennis players are finding it a great investment avenue, traditionalists like Martina Navratilova and Rennae Stubbs have other ideas.

Taking a shot at the investors’ preferring pickleball, Stubbs tweeted she will never invest in it. Replying to the Senior Aussie tennis star Kyrgios reminded her that the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant have also invested in pickleball. And they surely have a better knowledge of making investments.

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While the tennis community has divided opinions on pickleball, one thing is for sure. It is rising rapidly in popularity. It will be interesting to see how challenging it becomes for tennis in the coming years.