Inaugural Strong River Valley Pickleball Open
The inaugural Strong River Valley Pickleball Open was held this past Saturday at the Puckett City Park. The tournament was sponsored by the Strong River Valley Observer, and there was a very good turnout for the event. There were 2 draws- women’s singles and women’s doubles.
The popularity of pickleball has exploded across the U.S. recently, and it is actually the fastest growing sport in the U.S. There are over 36 million pickleball players currently in the U.S. Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. So, the SRVO felt it was time we introduced the sport to the great citizens of The Valley by sponsoring a tournament.
There were 24 women in the singles draw, and there were 10 teams in the doubles draw. No residents of The Valley were in the singles draw; however, we had one team from Puckett in the doubles draw. Sarena Smith and Veanus Vanderford were the lone team from the Valley, and the duo are sisters. Needless to say, they were the crowd favorite. The rest of the tournament entrants were from Brandon, Jackson, and Madison.
One fan said, “I’ve never seen so many Mercedes, BMWs, and Range Rovers at the Puckett Park in my life. Every vehicle had a 30A sticker on the back window. It was crazy. I don’t really think they liked us blaring our country music, but that’s how we roll in The Valley.”
Mary Grace Evert, the #3 ranked female in MS, won the singles draw. She breezed through the draw with little resistance. But, the doubles draw had much more competition. Smith and Vanderford had a tough draw, but they managed to navigate their way through it to reach the final. But, they ran out of gas in the championship match and came up short. However, the crowd was raucous throughout the match supporting the Puckett sisters.
Smith said, “We played hard, but we just ran out of gas. I’ve got to lose some weight, so I’m gonna have to cut out those awesome pizzas from Huff & Stuff.” Vanderford said, “I’ve got to stop vaping; it caught up with me today. We’ll see those highfalutin girls from Madison again, and we’re gonna whip their butts next time.”
The tournament was a big success, and we hope that it’s even bigger next year. SRVO thanks everyone who pitched in to put the tournament together, and we thank The Valley for coming out to support it. We’ll see you next year!