Pickle on the side: Can pickleball bring new players to tennis too?

Like a lot of tennis players, I was skeptical when I was asked to try pickleball. The name was funny, the strokes were basic, the sound of the ball was harsh, the court seemed kid-sized. Was this really “the fastest-growing sport in the U.S.” that I’d heard so much about?

But like a lot of tennis players, I saw pickleball’s appeal after a few days on that kid-sized court. It was fast, it was fun, and I could get a game going with my dad and niece without having to take lessons or practice any shots. Pickleball’s buzzing courts reminded me of the vibe around tennis facilities in the 1970s.

There was even, I learned later, a benefit to my tennis game. After a week of carving out dinks and angles, I began to find new openings for those shots on the tennis court. Which made me wonder: We’ve heard so much about tennis players moving to pickleball; can the transition work in reverse? Can a player improve in each sport by playing the other?

It’s a question that Ed Sarausad, a USTA league player turned pickleball enthusiast from Washington, has asked himself recently.

“I never tried a drop shot from behind the baseline and come to net in tennis before,” Sarausad says. “But pickle opens new dimensions.”