Some enthusiasts said they were aware of the “tak” sound generated by the perforated plastic ball hitting the paddle, and the effect on their surroundings.
Others raised concerns about the restrictions on the growing sport.
“Some choose to ban totally. Some choose to stop at a certain time, but just because of a knee-jerk reaction (to residents’ complaints),” said Mr Alan Chang, 60, who started playing pickleball in 2019.
Ms Vanisha Chandiramani, 56, pointed out that some public courts would be unused if not for pickleball players.
“They were sitting like white elephants gathering a lot of dust,” said the lawyer, who picked up the sport two years ago.
Mr Roger Ho, who founded the Top Pro Pickleball Community, said the sport was an avenue for seniors to exercise and socialise.
Since starting out in 2022, the interest group has expanded from just a few members to over 1,500 – 90 per cent of whom are seniors.
“They are free … but where do they go to play? The question is, aren’t we promoting senior citizens to exercise? Pickleball is the right game,” Mr Ho, 63, said.
There has been talk about using softer balls – although pickleball player Mr Lau said doing so may “lose the essence of the game”.
“Some of the things that pickleballers could do is to really manage the sounds that they make from cheering, or from the excitement,” said the 50-year-old, who declined to share his full name.
In response to CNA’s report on town councils setting restrictions, Ms Gho wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Sep 3) that “such frictions” are to be expected in a dense urban community.
She added that authorities will continue to “listen and engage”.
“There is reasonably no way we can please everybody. But a little more give-and-take by everyone goes a long long way,” she wrote.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
The pickleball association president, Mr Lim, has over the years tried to lobby for more court space, reaching out to stakeholders ranging from town councils to condominium management.
He said he recognises that other sports also need the use of public courts, and is thus advocating for more multi-purpose ones rather than just building new dedicated pickleball courts.
Mr Lim suggested that multi-purpose courts be built within public parks, similar to what has been done in cities such as Bangkok, Taipei and Jeju.
This would contain the noise instead of having it reverberate off housing blocks.
Pickleball enthusiasts CNA spoke to also proposed various ideas to increase the number of facilities, including by repurposing underutilised spaces such as warehouses, carparks and old tennis courts.
They also suggested adding more shelters to public courts, for the sport to be played regardless of time and weather. Having more sheltered courts would also encourage people to play later in the day, instead of early mornings, they said.
