VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Pickleball is a sport that's growing in popularity, and it's the reason that all eyes were on Virginia Beach this weekend.
Pickleball is a paddleboard sport that somewhat combines the skills from badminton, table tennis and tennis.
"Anybody can play pickleball — from 8 years old to 89 years old to 100 years old. If you can walk around on a court, you can play pickleball," said Jim Aldrich with Pickleball Virginia Beach.
He said players from 22 states and four countries descended on the Resort City for the first tournament since the courts were opened.
The facility, formerly Owl Creek Tennis Center, went unused for a year after the center closed. Aldrich and his partner then went to the city's Parks and Recreation Department asking if the center's tennis courts could be converted to pickleball courts. The city said yes, and now 14 tennis courts have been renovated into about 50 pickleball courts.
This weekend's tournament wasn't just a win for players, but for local businesses.
"The hotels really like us because we’re bringing in people during the off-season to to eat in the restaurants and stay in the hotels," Aldrich said.
Now that the courts are open, any members from Pickleball Virginia Beach, or just people from the community that want to check the sport out, are going to be able to do so in Virginia Beach.
