City Opens First Dedicated Pickleball Courts in Maplewood Park

Mayor Malik D. Evans announced yesterday that the City’s first dedicated pickleball courts are now open at Maplewood Park, on Maplewood Drive.

“Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation, so I’m very happy to see the City of Rochester create opportunities for our residents and visitors to enjoy this increasingly popular, fun, and active pastime,” said Mayor Evans. “Keeping our recreation facilities up to date and relevant with evolving interests is an important part of our mission to support an outstanding quality of life in Rochester.”

“As interest in racquet sports continues to grow, it’s critical that we create expanded infrastructure for community members to play,” said City Councilmember Mitch Gruber, who advocated for the inclusion of dedicated pickleball courts at City recreation facilities. “We don’t have a scarcity of court space in Rochester, so it’s a wonderful opportunity to create our first dedicated pickleball courts in Maplewood Park.”

Two former tennis courts at Maplewood Park have been reconstructed and converted to six pickleball courts, which are smaller and have different lines than tennis courts. Two existing tennis courts at Maplewood Park have also been restored and refurbished.

The pickleball courts have shorter nets, and are painted purple, green and blue to distinguish them from the standard green and blue tennis courts.

The courts are located in an area of Maplewood Park colloquially known as “Middle Maplewood,” which is south of West Ridge Road and west of Lake Avenue near the eastern terminus of Seneca Parkway. They are bounded by Riverside Street, Park View Street and Maplewood Drive.

The courts are available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis during park hours. They are not lighted at night.

While pickleball has been around since the 1960s, it started to gain widespread popularity during the Pandemic because it was seen as an easily accessible outdoor activity that could accommodate social distancing guidelines.

The City is also nearing completion of new pickleball courts at Farmington Park on Merchants Road; and has plans to re-stripe some existing tennis courts to accommodate both pickleball and tennis.