The Bethesda-Chevy Chase YMCA celebrates Tuesday’s National Pickleball Day with an invitation for anyone to come play with the pros.
An open-play format across 14 courts is featured from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Pickleball players of any level are invited and will be assigned to a court based on their abilities.
From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., world-ranked senior pros Forrest Bankston and Scott Nilsen and touring pros Riley Newman and Jade and Jackie Kawamoto play and offer tips.
From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., a pro-am exhibition of top-ranked players compete against the YMCA’s top pickleball coaches.
There are fees, beginning at $100, which include a commemorative YMCA pickleball or tennis founder paddle cover. Proceeds from the day’s events are designated for the YMCA’s court renovation project.
There are numerous pickleball courts at Montgomery County parks.
The sport that is a combination of lawn tennis, ping pong and badminton has taken off in the last few years but actually has been around for 57 years.
In pickleball, the “kitchen” is a seven-foot zone on each side of the net where players cannot volley while standing in it. Otherwise, a player could stand at the net and smash every return.
A dink is a shot used to make an opponent’s next shot unattackable.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Wisconsin unveiled two pickleball bobbleheads in honor of the day. They are Pickleball Bobble and Kitchen the Pickleball Mascot.
