Opelika pickleball tournament sets seniors turnout record

Pickleball fever has swept the nation, and it’s perhaps no more apparent when you enter the world of Opelika pickleball.

The U.S. Senior Pickleball South Zone Championship kicked off Thursday at the Opelika Sportsplex, and this isn’t just any tournament. With 270 players registered, it’s officially the largest ever members-only USSP tournament.

Over the next four days, athletes ranging from 50 to over 80 will battle it out in men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles and singles competition. Don’t let the age fool you — the competition is absolutely fierce.

In the highly competitive 4.0 skill level, 65-and-up division, seven teams vied for the championship. When the dust settled, it was Karen Stewart and Lisa Lloyd Smith who claimed victory — a testament to their dedication of training three to five days a week, and sometimes twice a day.

“It’s a round robin, so you play everyone to 15, you have to win by 2… and you’re not off the court more than 5 minutes so it’s non-stop,” Stewart said.

Smith added: “We started at 9 and it’s 1:30 so that’s a lot of games but it’s worth it.”

Jim Young, Opelika Pickleball Club president, said the tournament is bringing visitors from across the country.

“I asked for a show of hands about how many people had ever been here before and how many hands went up from people that hadn’t been here and in fact, I talked to a man this morning from Iowa,” Young said. “So it’s good for the community, it’s good for economic impact, it’s good for merchants, it’s just overall good.”

Young said the Opelika Sportsplex pickleball courts, which are conveniently covered and free, receive 60,000 visitors a year. The tournaments have made a $1.3 million economic impact in a single year.