FARMERS BRANCH (CBSNewsTexas.com) — More than 25,000 spectators are expected to watch the best players in the country compete this week at the Pickleball National Championships in Farmers Branch.
Not bad for a sport many people hadn’t heard of before the pandemic, including Alex Neumann—who never imagined living the life of a professional athlete.
“I had someone ask for an autograph today,” Neumann said. “Two years ago, [I] was working a desk job.”
The 25-year-old is among 3,500 players competing at Brookhaven Country Club.
“Over the next seven days, you’re going to have pros and amateur players from 7 to 97 that are competing in these draws,” said Professional Pickleball Association’s Jeff Watson.
Farmers Branch Mayor Terry Lynne says all seven of his city’s hotels are booked for the sport’s showcase event with competitors from 49 states.
“We are quickly becoming the pickleball capital of the world,” Mayor Lynne said. “The economic impact, we’re guessing, is somewhere around $20 million to the local economy.”
Pickleball has proven to be a sport a lot of people want to play, but is it a sport spectators want to watch? Fans say the more people understand the skills involved, the more they will want to fill the courtside seats.
“It’s not a putaway sport, it’s a finesse sport,” spectator Ruth Whitfield said. “There’s a lot of power to it, but to come back to that power, you have to have finesse and that’s fun to watch.”
Whitfield will be among those focusing their eyes on the dozens of small courts, watching what’s expected to be the sport’s biggest event ever.
Anyone interested in attending can buy tickets here.
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