A tournament for the fastest sport in America is coming to Park Forest this week. The Park Forest Tennis & Health Club is hosting the DaFarm Singles Round Robin Pickleball Tournament on Sept. 28-30. It is the first time the club has hosted such event.
Brad Skoryi, the Park Forest Tennis & Health Club's manager, says some people may have never heard of the sport. However it is gaining popularity by the day.
"So, pickleball.. some people like to think of it as a cross between ping-pong and tennis," said Skoryi. "You're using a small paddle, a little bigger about the size of ping-pong paddle, and you're using a harder whiffle ball."
Skoryi says hosting this tournament is a great opportunity to showcase the village and introduce residents to a new sport. As mentioned, this is the first time the club has ever hosted a pickleball tournament, and Skoryi says the long-term goal is for the Tennis & Health Club to be a premiere destination in the south suburbs for both tennis and pickleball.
"The reason why we wanted to bring it here is to help service the community," said Skoryi. "Also, we wanted to bring a great sport to the area. We are looking forward to having a lot of events in pickleball. We'd like to have pickleball days, nights. And we will try to teach the community a little more on how to play the game."
Pickleball is played on a tennis court or a badminton-sized court with the net set to a height of 34 inches at the center. Players can play either outdoors or indoors and the game can be played as singles or doubles.
Skoryi says the tournament being held at the Park Forest Tennis and Health club is singles-only, which he says is rare. He adds, normally a tournament would consists of doubles and singles. He says they are expecting more than two dozen participants, and the event is free to the public.
"This club has great views to watch the courts," said Skoryi. "We have a lounge on the main level, where you can purchase a drink. But anyone who wants to come and watch it, it is free to come in and see the action."
The tournament will run this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at the Park Forest Tennis and Health Club which is located at 290 Westwood Dr. The action is set to tip-off at 6:30 p.m. each day.