Barbados eyes pickleball partnership to take road tennis worldwide

Government is looking to partner with the Ultimate Pickleball League (UPL) in a move aimed at making Barbados a Caribbean hub for pickleball while expanding the international reach of road tennis.

Minister of Sports Charles Griffith revealed the plans following talks with a UPL delegation headed by its US-based Chief Executive Officer Charles Farr.

Griffith said the partnership could benefit both sports, with plans including the local mass production of road tennis rackets for sale on the international market.

“The fact that we are trying to fuse road tennis with pickleball will be a win-win for all the parties concerned,” Griffith said.

Pickleball, which originated in the 1960s, is played on a 20-foot-wide by 44-foot-long court, the same dimensions as a badminton court.

Griffith said a home would be established for pickleball in Barbados. In the interim, the government plans to retrofit a number of hardcourts to accommodate the sport.

A UPL delegation is expected to return to Barbados next month for a 10-day coaching clinic, during which local players and officials will be scouted ahead of planned pickleball tournaments in Barbados.

There are also plans to introduce the sport in Barbadian schools.

Farr said that while the UPL wants to promote the regional growth of pickleball, the culture and history of road tennis would be preserved.

He believes pickleball could take off in Barbados and the wider Caribbean within six to 12 months.

“Things are going to grow and grow at a rapid pace, but the end result will be fantastic for Barbados and the UPL,” he said.

Farr said the global pickleball industry is worth about US$30 billion, with 183 countries involved and more than 11 000 clubs.

“The great thing about this sport and road tennis is that you can play with your mom, your dad or your grandparents, but the foundation where it all starts is the community,” he said.

Farr also said road tennis could benefit significantly from pickleball’s global television audience and revealed that Barbados would be invited to the World Pickleball Championships next year.

“Who knows, the next international star of pickleball could be a Barbadian. We don’t know until we try,” he said.

(KH/PR)