YWCA Greenwich hosts its first annual Pickleball Tournament

March 2023, Greenwich, CT: YWCA Greenwich held its first annual Pickleball Tournament Saturday March 25th with a tremendous showing. 60 players, divided into four flights, participated in the all-day tournament, which started at 8:30am and ended after 5:00pm.

The round robin format allowed each team, comprised of 7 or 8 players, to play every other team in their respective flight. Following the qualifying 12-minute games, the top two teams from each flight held a playoff match to determine the winners.

At the end of a long but rewarding day, there were four winning teams, one from each flight. The winners were: Marianne Kodde and Katie Penna, Fran Lorenzo and Ysbell Kearns, Mitch Fuchs and Lu Pham, Linda Liu and Maureen Fearon, and Linda Liu and Maureen Fearon.

Greenwich High School tennis coach Betsy Underhill has been playing pickleball for over a decade and organized the tournament. “Even though this was the first pickleball tournament held here at YWCA Greenwich, I thought we accomplished a lot of big goals. It brought new people into the facility, especially those who had never played together, it gave people a chance to play in their first ever tournament, and it was a great opportunity to introduce the community to pickleball.”

The indoor pickleball courts at YWCA Greenwich are newly constructed of a poured rubber surface that is easy on knees and ankles. YWCA Greenwich offers open play for experienced players as well as supervised/instructional play. Beginning in April, also known as National Pickleball Month, there will be four available outdoor courts, resurfaced and relined to be used as pickleball courts, weather permitting. To reserve a court, please contact Member Services at 203.869.6501 ext. 100.