Austin Pickleball Update - Volume 2

December 08, 2023

Hello, and welcome to Austin Pickleball Update - Volume 2!

First, we want to say thank you to everyone who has shared kind words and feedback around the launch of Austin Pickleball Update. We’ve clearly struck a chord with the pickleball community here in Austin, and we are excited to continue creating and providing value for all of you. If you ever have any feedback, suggestions, or comments for the newsletter, please email [email protected]. We are grateful for your support!

Kicking off Volume 2, we’ve got a great issue lined up for you, including:

  • Local Austin Paddle Demo Event

  • Play Pickleball in Austin - Austin Pickle Ranch

  • Upcoming Tournaments

  • Pickleball Strategy 101

  • Newsletter Sponsors

  • Austin Pickleball Update Social Groups

Paddle Demo Event - Try New Pickleball Paddles

As we have connected and spoken with the Austin pickleball community, it is clear that while people love their paddles, they are always eager to try out new and different paddle types and brands. With so many different paddles companies on the market (and more entering every day), it can be challenging to understand the nuances between all the different types of paddles.

To address this, we are excited to announce our Austin Pickleball Update Paddle Demo Event! Come join us on Saturday 12/16 and Sunday 12/17 at the South Austin Rec Center (1100 Cumberland Rd) from 10am to 2pm (weather permitting). We will be onsite with 6 of the top pickleball paddles on the market, including:

The event is free to attend, and the above paddles will be available for you to play with on a first-come first-served basis. If you’re interested in trying any of the above paddles, come on by, meet the Austin Pickleball Update team, try new paddles, and enjoy some pickleball. Register for the event here, and follow our instagram @austinpickleballupdate for live updates of our paddle demo event. See you there!

Play Pickleball in Austin - Austin Pickle Ranch

With the explosion in popularity of pickleball in Austin (and everywhere, really), it has become apparent that there is a massive need for court spaces in the capital of the Lone Star State. There have been a number of new court spaces and clubs that have opened up recently in Austin, but none as innovative as what you’ll find at Austin Pickle Ranch. 

Situated on the 4th floor rooftop of a parking garage off West 6th St, Austin Pickle Ranch is one of the best places to play pickleball if you’re looking for a spot near the heart of downtown Austin. To book a court, simply create your account, select your court date and time, and make a payment to complete your reservation. Courts must be reserved online and in advance, and they have rental paddles available for a small fee. Court pricing varies by time of day and member status, and you can see their current court pricing as of 12//8/23 below. 

Austin Pickle Ranch Court Pricing

The facility is open Mon-Sat from 7am-10pm and on Sunday from 7am-9pm, and I recommend getting to the court at least 10 minutes prior to your court start time for check-in. There is a bathroom located on the first floor of the parking garage, which you can easily access via the elevator from the 4th floor and a code provided by the attendant.

Austin Pickle Ranch offers a $40/month membership, which allows you to book courts 10 days in advance (compared to 3 days in advance for non-members), provides free drop-in play, and offers members only programming.

The facility also offers open play sessions grouped by skill level, which provides a great opportunity for you to show up, meet some new people, and enjoy some pickleball. You can view their program calendar here for open play times. 

Austin Pickle Ranch Rooftop Courts

My Experience at Austin Pickle Ranch

I had the opportunity to play at Austin Pickle Ranch the Friday after Thanksgiving in the afternoon. It was easy to find via GPS, and once you enter the garage take it all the way to the 4th floor and park when you hit the roof. 

Sign in and registering was an easy process, and I was excited to get out on the courts to play with my doubles group. We booked a 2 hour time slot, and once our time started we kindly let the previous users know we were ready for the court so that we could get started. 

I was impressed not just with the overall facility setup, but also with the amount of people playing. Maybe it was due to the holiday Friday after Thanksgiving, but all 8 courts were constantly in use during my time there, with many people rotating in/out after an hour of play. Pickle Ranch has definitely gotten their reservation system right so that people can show up and easily and efficiently find their court to get started. 

The courts themselves were high quality and great to play on. There were a few very slight declines on parts of some courts due to this structure being a parking garage, however I didn’t feel this affecting our play during my time there. There was some heavy wind during the time I played, and this did slightly affect some of our play/points depending on the wind speed. This facility is also very close to the MoPac freeway and train tracks, so if you’re playing during rush hour or when a train goes by there will definitely be ambient noise. 

All this said, Austin Pickle Ranch is a stellar addition to the pickleball landscape here in Austin. Their reservation system, facility location, and court amenities provide a great option for anyone local or visiting looking to play pickleball around the downtown Austin area. I look forward to the next time I can play at Austin Pickle Ranch. 

Also, shout out to the Rosenberg and Resh families (pictured below), who we briefly chatted with as they celebrated Thanksgiving with a few rounds of pickleball at Austin Pickle Ranch!

Upcoming Austin Area Pickleball Tournaments

Tesoro Project Open Fundraiser - Sunday, December 10 (this weekend)

  • Location -Boulding Acres, Austin, TX

  • Overview - First Annual Tesoro Project Open Fundraiser and mixer in Austin, Texas, to benefit the local non-profit, Tesoro Project. Tournament to feature open coed round robin play with minimum of 5 matches.

  • Price - $55 for tournament entry

  • Location - Austin Pickle Ranch

  • Overview - The Lone Star Sweater Slam is the inaugural tournament hosted at Austin Pickle Ranch, in partnership with SweatPals. The tournament will have 3 events: Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. All games will use rally scoring.

  • Price - $80

  • Location - Oasis Pickleball Club, Rockwall, TX (outside of Dallas)

  • Overview - Events include Men’s Singles/Doubles, Women’s Singles/Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.The format for all brackets will be Round Robin followed by a single-elimination tournament. Registration closes at midnight on December 21, 2023. 

  • Price - $165

PPA Tour - March 12-17, 2024

  • Location - Hills of Lakeway - Elevation Athletic Club, Lakeway, TX

  • Overview - Amateur matches will be played alongside the Championship Court where the top professionals in the world compete for the biggest payouts in the sport of pickleball. Double Elimination, 5 team minimum for under 65 events, combined by skill. Round robin for divisions of 5 teams. See website for detailed tournament information. 

  • Price - $140 ($95 tourney fee + $40 per event fee + $5 registration fee)

    • If you are playing in the tournament, you get a free Grounds Pass included with your registration fee, which gives you access to amateur and professional matches that are not played on Championship Court.

Pickleball Strategy 101 - Never Slice Your Serve Returns

A conversation I have had far, far too many times with my pickleball friends (looking at you Bill, Vince, and Noah 😄) is about the best way to return serves, and in my opinion, that a slice return is never the optimal shot. 

If you read Volume 1 of our newsletter two weeks ago, we covered that returning serves as deep as possible via a soft, high return is the optimal shot, as this provides you with the most amount of time to get up to the kitchen line. Despite knowing that a high, deep returns allows for better court positioning to win the point, I’ve seen many players use a slice for their serve returns, and the slice/no slice debate has gone on.

Well, I’m happy to say that I now have a pickleball professional in my ‘no slice returns’ camp, none other than Austin local Zane Navratil. Check out Zane’s video below, where he breaks down why pros never return serves with a slice, and how hitting returns with a slice can actually provide an advantage to your opponent.

Speaking of Zane Navratil, he and pro Altaf Merchant are raising money through the end of the year for the non-profit Stop Alzheimer's Now. Check out Zane's donation page here, where a donation of any size enters you into a raffle for a chance to win signed paddles and SAN gear.

Thank you to our Austin Pickleball Update sponsors! 🙏

Kolenda Chiropractic in Austin, TX

Working to master your dinks and find yourself sore after a long day on the court? Look no further than Dr. Thomas Kolenda (DC, FASA, FICPA) of Kolenda Chiropractic.

Dr. Kolenda has been a chiropractor in Austin for more than 25 years, taking care of athletes from all sports and across all areas of life. If you feel soreness or pain when you play pickleball you don’t have to suffer, as many issues can be healed by simple chiropractic care, acupuncture, and therapy. Dr. Kolenda will take good care of you! Contact him today to get your first appointment scheduled.

Dr. Thomas Kolenda: 1-512-231-9002, [email protected], kolendachiropractic.com.

Interested in appearing as a sponsor in the Austin Pickleball Update newsletter? Let us know here and we’ll be in touch!

Austin Pickleball Update Social Groups

Our 140+ person WhatsApp group was created to help you easily and quickly find pickleball players in the Austin metro area for recreational, league, and tournament play. If you’re looking for someone to play Pickleball with, join the group here and make a post for where/when you’re playing and the player skill you’re looking for. 

You can follow us on Instagram here and join our Facebook group here.

Subscribe to Austin Pickleball Update

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Thank you for reading and being a part of the Austin pickleball community. Look out for Austin Pickleball Update - Volume 3 on Thursday, December 21!

See you on the courts!

Phillip & Kylee Klugman - Austin Pickleball Update