Photo: Matt Shearer / WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Walking around neighborhoods in New England this summer, you may start to notice more lines painted on residential backyard courts. One explanation is that a fresh pickleball court may have been installed next door, an endeavor that has recently exploded in popularity across the region.
WBZ's Matt Shearer spoke to Ted Renda, Owner of 360 Sportscapes, a company that specializes in backyard transformations. 360 Sportscapes offers professional installations of residential play areas, synthetic grass, putting greens, and athletic courts, which can be multi-use for sports like basketball, tennis, and pickleball. Renda says the latter of which has been in high demand recently, as he received six requests for pickleball court installations in just one day.
"It's just blown up- we've easily seen a 300 to 400 percent increase in pickleball requests. They're a quarter of the size of a tennis court, so right off the bat, you're talking about a quarter of the expense," Renda said.
On average, 360 Sportscape officials say they get 50 to 60 requests for new pickleball courts per month. According to the company's website, 360 Sportscapes professionally installs pickleball courts in the Greater Boston Area and Greater Naples in Florida, something they say can be converted from existing tennis or badminton courts.
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Much like tennis, the courts are striped into right and left service areas, but with a non-volley zone in front of the net. Unlike tennis though, pickleball is played with paddles and a plastic ball, and adds elements from badminton, ping pong, and four square.
Renda says that installing the up and coming sport in a backyard can cost a pretty penny depending on what features it has.
"Probably in that $30,000 range, obviously when you start adding netting all the way around, lighting, landscaping, and stuff like that, you can go pretty high," Renda said.
WBZ's Matt Shearer (@MattWBZ) reports.
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