Minor League Pickleball Competition To Be Held In Tulsa

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America.

Tulsa is getting behind its popularity with the opening of TopSeed Pickleball.

"We just wanted this to be a place where the pickleball players from all around the Tulsa community could come and find their spot and carve their niche, said General Manager James Moore.

The facility has nine indoor pickleball courts and three outdoor courts. 

"We have an amazing surface to play on," said Assistant Director Katie Merrill. "It is an outdoor surface, so you use an outdoor ball, but it is actually indoors away from the elements. In Oklahoma, it is quite windy, so it is much better to play inside."

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong.

"It is easy to play, it is easy to pick up, literally anyone can do it," said Merrill. "You do not have to be super athletic."

Moore agreed.

"Pickleball, the learning curve, is a little easier because it is a little bit more of a game than a sport and that makes it more accessible to different ages. Men and women can play together because of that and old and young can play together because of that," Moore said.

Merrill first picked up a paddle five years ago.

"I was just waiting for my mom to invite me to her pickleball group and that is how I got started," she said.

The TopSeed courts see hundreds of people with similar stories. Some of Pickleball's biggest names have even made it their home court.

"Tulsa is fortunate on a national level," Moore said. "We actually have quite a few movers and shakers in the pickleball industry that live right here in Tulsa."

Caroline Luelf is one of them. She is the head of Minor League Pickleball, a team competition for amateur pickleball players. 

"You have two men and two women on a team, and they will play round robins against another team and there are different divisions, so you do not have to be a sensational player to play in this," Moore said.

TopSeed Pickleball is hosting its first Minor League Pickleball tournament April 27-28. Registration is completely sold out with hundreds of teams signed up to compete. 

"It is kind of a new craze," Merrill said. "We get to watch the pros do this format, so it is fun to get to do it as amateur pickleball players."

The tournament format includes teams of 4 players consisting of two men and two women who will play four 21-point games against each other. The games are one women's double, one men's double, and two mixed doubles. If both teams are tied after 4 games one person from each team plays singles, switching players every four rallies until someone gets to 21 and wins by 2 points.

TopSeed is also collaborating with other area pickleball clubs to host more competitions in the future.

"We have gathered together and been able to create a small circuit of 5 or 6 major tournaments just in the Tulsa area and that is very recent, so it is pretty special," Moore said.

Anyone interested in learning the sport can also take a free Intro to Pickleball class at TopSeed. For more information call 918-528-5165 or visit their website at https://topseedpickleball.com/.

TopSeed Pickleball is hosting a Minor League team competition April 27-28. To learn more about TopSeed and its events, click here.