Pickleball, a sport born in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, has grown in popularity so much that it now is played in all 50 states by almost 9 million people and has over 70,000 members in the professional association. It is played on a court that resembles a shrunken tennis court with paddles that look like oversize ping-pong paddles, using a perforated plastic ball about the size of a baseball. The name of the game is said to be inspired by the non-starting college oarsmen in rowing that would be thrown together in “pickle boats” for a just-for-fun race. Pickleball is a hot ticket in Crozet.
Meg Knutson, a world-class pickleball champion, has been a Crozet resident since 2019. Her story starts in Minnesota, where she grew up in a tennis family. Her parents and sister played competitive tennis, and Meg played on her college team for a short time. She mentioned that tennis, along with ping pong, lacrosse and some other sports, provide cross-over skills that can be applied to pickleball. In January 2023 she traveled to Key West, Florida, to visit with her family and played pickleball for the first time while at the same time her sister was playing in a pickleball tournament there. Returning to Crozet, she walked onto the pickleball courts at Crozet Park in February and found the local pickleball players welcoming, sharing the rules of the game and tips on playing. In April of that year, she went to the U.S. Open Pickleball tournament in Naples, Florida, as a spectator to watch her sister Jenny play. In May 2023, she traveled to a tournament in Richmond and won a gold medal in mixed doubles with her partner Jared Racicot. Then, only a year later in April of this year, she returned to the U.S. Open Tournament in Naples as a player, where all three generations of women in her family won medals, including Meg, her sister Jenny and her 73-year-old mother Marnie. Meg and her partner Jared won a gold medal in mixed doubles at that tournament.
Meg’s professional pickleball achievements also include team play, where six players compete as a team in several formats including men’s, women’s and mixed doubles. Meg was invited to join a local team organized at the Greencroft Club by her local pickleball mentor Megan Washburn. The team traveled to Las Vegas in October 2023 and won the Advanced Level Player trophy at the USTA National Pickleball Tournament. The team plans to return to Las Vegas in October to compete in the 2024 tournament. In addition to her professional tournament play, she is a PPR Certified pickleball instructor and teaches once a week at the Farmington Country Club. Meg’s two children, ages 5 and 9, are taking pickleball lessons and are big fans of the sport.
If picking up a pickleball racket for the first time to winning national titles in less than a year and a half sounds impressive, it truly is. Meg attributes her rapid success in the game to several things. Her sister, Jenny Johnson, has been supportive not only as a sister and coach, but her pickleball equipment company, Rich Cat Supply, has been a sponsor of her tournament play. Her pickleball partner, Jared Racicot, and her mentor, Megan Washburn, have been instrumental in her success as a player, and she has received unwavering support from her husband and kids. Significant factors in her achievements are her love for an incredibly fun game that can be played by almost anyone from beginner to advanced and what she describes as an incredible local pickleball community in Crozet and the greater Charlottesville area.
Like many sports, pickleball has its own slang. If you plan to play the game, you will have to learn how to call out the score which is a series of three numbers such as 10-4-2, you must understand what the kitchen is, what a dink shot is, and what it means if your team got pickled. Pickleball is unique in that it is relatively easy to learn to play, and the compact court provides much closer interaction with and your partner and opponents, especially when it comes to trash talk on the court. Players can play as singles or doubles, like tennis.
Here in Crozet, there are three outdoor hard surface courts with permanent lines and nets in Claudius Crozet Park just to the north of the ACAC pool and next to the basketball court. The courts are available at no cost on a first-come, first-serve basis. The are several casual groups around Crozet that play on the courts on a regular basis, and most groups seem happy to welcome new players. Most athletic equipment retailers around the Charlottesville area have a wide range of pickleball equipment available. Other nearby pickleball facilities include The Greencroft Club and Boars Head Sports Club.
