Pickleball in La Paz

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in North America. It was invented way back in 1965 on Bainbridge Island in the Pacific Northwest, and is a racket sport that combines features of Tennis, Badminton, Ping-Pong. One of the things that makes it so popular is that it is less hard on your body than many other racket sports and it doesn’t take long to learn. Many, in the aging population, have taken it up for these reasons, but there is also a huge rise in interest and involvement from the younger crowd, who find it to be a fun, fast paced, and social game.

In La Paz, as in many other areas of Baja California Sur, the popularity of Pickleball has exploded in recent years and it has become THE thing to do. As a result, more and more facilities are being built to ensure there are enough courts available to keep up with the rapidly rising demand. Today, I want to talk a little bit about Pickleball in La Paz and area and where you can go to “get your pickle on”.

This morning, I met with one of our local entrepreneurs, Licenciado Juan Ricardo Juárez Castillo, to talk with him about the growing Pickleball movement in La Paz. Ricardo is an astute businessman who is always looking for his next opportunity. He runs the San Juan Club Deportivo, which he initially established 13 years ago as the San Juan Tennis Centre. In those days, his club was responsible for training some of the best tennis players in the country. However, in recent years he realized that interest in Tennis was waning and that interest in Pickleball was sky rocketing. He just knew that the timing was perfect to make a change. In consultation with the pickleball community who were begging him for some dedicated space to play their game, he identified the existing needs and predicted growth and then designed and built what has become an exceptional pickleball facility. He rebranded it San Juan Club Deportivo. The Centre now offers 12 dedicated Pickleball courts, one demonstration/stadium pickleball court, 2 Tennis courts, and 2 Padel courts (another paddle sport that while invented in Mexico, is now the fastest growing sport in all Latin American countries). San Juan Club Deportivo offers reasonable membership rates ranging from 1 month memberships (1200 pesos aprox $60USD) to 1 year memberships (9000 pesos aprox $450 USD), all of which include unlimited play day and evening (the courts are lit at night) as well as group lessons. See their website for more details. https://t.ly/9FUED

 

In addition to regular play and lessons, the facility offers local tournaments, fun round-robin events, and even hosts major events such as the upcoming CPM (Circuito Pickleball México) League  2024 Finals which will begin on December 6, as well as the opening games of the 2025 CPM League season January 17-19, 2025. They will even be hosting the first Annual Seniors Pickleball Tournament in Mexico on the 6, 7 and 8 of February, 2025 https://t.ly/UQZ3Z . When there are tournaments, the Club’s restaurant provides a full menu of food choices (Did I mention the San Juan Club Deportivo is also an Events Facility with three sizes of spaces for your celebration needs – from birthdays to weddings and more?!?)

Ricardo is not only focused on his own club, he is very supportive of the other clubs in the region and is working closely with the owners of many those clubs to bring talent and events to the area that will make Baja Sur a pickleball destination for visitors from around the world.  If Pickleball is YOUR thing, there are many locations in southern Baja California Sur where you can go to play and connect with others who share your passion. Players from SJCD often go to other facilities to participate in tournaments and high-level lessons, and players from those facilities come to La Paz as well. It is a strong and supportive community.  Here are links to just a few of the many possibilities:

On the other side of La Paz, near the La Concha Hotel, is the Pedregal Tennis Centre https://t.ly/ERzJs. They were the first to provide dedicated Pickleball courts in La Paz back in 2020. They currently have four dedicated Pickleball courts. The courts have lighting available at night for an additional fee.

 

Baja Tennis https://t.ly/QvMIM,  located on 5 de Febrero in El Centro across from San Diego Furniture, has also recently added 4 dedicated Pickleball courts. They have a punch card that give the user 12 entries for 800 pesos to help keep costs down They also offer free introductory lessons at 5 pm on Saturdays.

Here are the names and links for a number of other options for pickleball play in Baja Sur:

Remate Club https://www.instagram.com/remateclub/ on Ocampo in el Centro (downtown La Paz) – offering two pickleball courts and 2 padel courts.

Gran Sueño Resort https://gransueno.com/activities/pickleball/ – 45 minutes south of La Paz at Bay of the Dead – for those wanting a holiday in a resort that includes pickleball (2 courts)

Tres Palapas https://www.trespalapasbaja.com/  – Los Barriles, BCS – has 10 courts

Palmas Pickleball Resort and Academy https://www.palmaspickleballresort.com/,  on the grounds of Hotel Palmas in Los Barriles is opening soon. They will have 24 courts.

Free public pickleball courts https://www.facebook.com/groups/1673596889617063/ – there is a friendly social group who play together on these covered courts, note that they are poured concrete courts with score marks that make ball bounces unpredictable at times.

Tango Azul Pickleball Resort https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082970300231&sk=about  a new development being constructed in La Ventana that will have 10 courts

Not to mention dozens of private and public clubs in both Cabo San Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo.

No matter which place you choose to play at, if you’re playing Pickleball, you having FUN!!