Pickleball power lights up AARP Champions Cup at Pictona near Daytona

HOLLY HILL — It’s a testament to the congenial vibe in the ever-expanding global ranks of pickleball players that one of the sport’s most famous ambassadors demonstrated his skills without much fanfare in a doubles match on Thursday’s opening day of the AARP U.S. Champions Cup at Pictona at Holly Hill.

Yes, that imposing figure with the laser intensity stare on Pictona’s championship court was none other than Ivan Lendl, the legendary tennis champion who racked up 94 singles titles, eight major tournament victories and a string of 270 weeks atop the world rankings against such all-time greats as John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.

As the four-day tournament moves toward its final matches on Sunday, Lendl, 63, now represents a pickleball passion shared by the roughly 500 competitors in the 50+ age bracket tournament.

The guy just loves pickleball.

“Obviously, it’s a different sport, but it’s fun,” Lendl said, toweling sweat from his forehead after logging a win with doubles partner Vincent Van Patten. “I just enjoy competition and you’ve got to compete to do well.”

Nearby, those sentiments were echoed by Chuck Jacobs, 50, who traveled from Satellite Beach to compete in the amateur division. A lifelong tennis devotee, who once competed at the college level, Jacobs made the pickleball transition about a year ago. Eventually, he’d like to turn pro.

“When you get older tennis really puts a beating on the body,” said Jacobs, a regional manager for a pest control company. “I love how fast-paced pickleball is. You can stay out and play all day and your body will not hurt as much.”

But there’s more to it than that, he said.

“It’s a great group of people, whether you’re just playing socially for fun or in a tournament like this,” he said. “I mean, where else can you see freaking Ivan Lendl?! That’s pretty awesome.”

AARP: Pickleball packs health benefits for older adults

For AARP, the Pictona tournament is the second that the organization has sponsored in Florida, following a January event in Punta Gorda, said Dionne Polite, AARP director of state operations.

For older adults, the sport supports AARP’s six pillars for brain health, Polite said, encompassing social interaction, stress relief, activities that engage the mind, exercise and good nutrition.

“We know that particularly after COVID, many older adults have experienced social isolation and loneliness,” she said. “With the social aspect of the sport, we find that it helps older adults not only physically, but mentally, as well.”

Sanctioned by the Association of Pickleball Players as the part of the national APP Tour, the AARP Cup is offering the largest senior pro purse in the tour’s history with $75,000 being awarded to winners in the Champion (50+) and Masters (60+) professional divisions.

The field represents pro and amateur players from 38 states, including California, Arizona and “across the United States,” said Ken Herrmann, who founded the APP in 2019.

“As we’ve seen throughout this wave of pickleball, the tournament offers a wonderful bonding experience, where friends and family can play the sport together,” he said.

For devoted pickleball players, sport is 'a life-changer'

For Kara Neal, 54, who traveled from Jacksonville to play in the tournament, the combination of exercise and camaraderie has been irresistible since she discovered pickleball a year ago.

"It’s just so addictive,” she said. “The people are amazing. You meet new friends wherever you go, and it’s good exercise. I was invited to play one evening and I never stopped.”

A pediatric nurse, Neal isn’t among the ex-tennis players drawn to the sport.

“I played ping-pong as a teenager,” she said, adding that she didn’t exercise much until she discovered pickleball. “I’ve never been healthier than I’ve been this past year because of it.”

Pickleball specializes in such transformations, said J.D. Ross, 57, another competitor.

“It’s a life-changer,” said Ross, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, who has spent 2-1/2 years on the senior pro tour. “If you talk with people out here, you’d be amazed at how many people say that.”

A former college-level tennis player, Ross became devoted enough to pickleball to leave a corporate management career to start a business building and resurfacing courts for the sport. Often, such projects are focused on introducing those with special needs to pickleball, he said.

“The beauty of it is that you can pick it up at any age and you can play it at any level,” he said. “When you love pickleball, it’s really like when you’re 12 years old and you’re just having fun. Someone always says, ‘Let’s play one more, let’s play ‘til it gets dark.’”

If you go

WHAT: AARP U.S. Champions Cup

WHEN: Matches start at 8 a.m. daily through Sunday

WHERE: Pictona at Holly Hill, 1060 Ridgewood Ave., Holly Hill

COST: $15 spectator admission for adults at the gate or in advance online at theapp.global, with ages 12 and younger free with parent or guardian.

ONLINE: pictona.org or theapp.global

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Pickleball power lights up AARP Champions Cup at Pictona near Daytona