Tennis vs. pickleball: The heated debate plays out at U.S. Open

Coke vs. Pepsi. 

Godzilla vs. Kong.  

Tennis vs. pickleball. 

Some debates may never be settled -- and that last one reached the U.S. Open on Monday’s opening day when No. 8 seed Frances Tiafoe was asked about pickleball. 

“The pickleball is what it is,” Tiafoe said after dispatching fellow American Learner Tien in straight sets in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “The hype around it is crazy. I don’t quite understand it. I just don’t. But a lot of people invest in it. Obviously, from a business side, that part is great. It’s grown so much in the States.” 

“But the actual play, I don’t think it’s a very difficult sport or great sport at all. If we’re casually playing and having drinks and whatever, having fun, but to call it a sport, it’s crazy to me.” 

Ouch.  

If you’ve ever picked up a racket for tennis or a paddle for pickleball – “The fastest growing sport!” according to pickleball people – you know there is a tension between the two recreational activities/sports. 

Tennis folks turn their noses up at pickleball and are really annoyed that pickleball court have been encroaching on tennis court space.  

And the noise! There have been lawsuits, so many lawsuits, about pickleball’s relentless clatter of paddle striking plastic ball. If you think the word “pickleball” is silly, imaging saying it over and over again to a judge in a court of law. But people do.

Pickleball people are just trying to have fun – and some of them are trying to make a business of it, whether it’s with pickleball palaces popping up practically everywhere or in a professional league (there are two; there used to be three). 

Investors in professional pickleball include LeBron James, Tom Brady, tennis Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters, rapper Drake and actor Michael B. Jordan. 

Some former tennis pros have joined professional pickleball, including Jack Sock, Sam Querrey and Merrick native Noah Rubin, who was the 2014 Wimbledon junior champion and 2015 NCAA singles runner-up before going pro and reaching 125th in the rankings.  

Rubin decided to take a break from tennis last year and picked up pickleball. 

Rubin, who was at the Open on Tuesday as a spectator, decided four months ago to return to tennis after a mixed experience with pickleball. He hopes to be at next year’s Open as a competitor. 

“I took some time off from tennis and then somebody that owned a MLP (Major League Pickleball) team said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to check out this. The sport right now is blowing up,’ “ said Rubin, 27. “So they're considering it a sport for the most part.  

“I loved recreational pickleball. I played a lot, a few times before I played some of these pro events. It was so much fun. I really enjoyed how accessible, the inclusivity of it all, and then getting to the professional side of it, I think everything that made them explode on that recreational side, I think they kind of lost it professionally, and that was a fear of mine.” 

The problem, according to Rubin? Too many nit-picky rules. 

“I got a warning code violation for coaching,” Rubin said. “I was trying to get what little crowd we had pumped up. And I was like, ‘Wow, everything that I thought was so great’ -- I wanted people chanting, drunk, with food, and bodies painted --  and it just wasn't that feel.” 

Most pickleballers play doubles. Of singles pickleball, Rubin said, “That’s where it showcases the athleticism. Every time I play doubles, it’s a 50-50 chance whether I’m going to sweat. Singles is a high intense workout. It’s a fun workout.” 

But is it a sport? We’ll let Tiafoe have the last word for now. 

“It is what it is,” Tiafoe said. “To each his own. People are enjoying it. That’s ultimately what matters. You want to enjoy it and pick it up, hats off to you.” 

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.