"All I know is I've never paid a dime for a tennis court" - Fans disgruntled by astronomical fees for Pickleball courts in Central Park, New York

Pickleball has been increasingly out of favor with tennis fans since the sport came to the tennis community's attention last year. An angry set of tennis fans took to social media earlier on Monday (28 August) to react to the fees that are being charged by CityPickle's park in New York City, which intends to promote public interest in the sport.

CityPickle is a US-based entertainment company that owns pickleball courts all over the country. They recently opened up new public courts in Central Park, New York City. The company charges US $80 for an hour's play during regular hours, and US $120 for the same amount of time during peak hours, as reported by journalist Mike Dickson.

"Courts in Central Park. $80 per hour off peak, $120 peak, they are all taken. Guess there’s no accounting for taste," Dickson wrote on his social media handle

This fee structure, however, was widely criticized by American tennis fans — all of whom evidently have very little respect for the sport in question.

One fan scoffed at the prospect of paying such a high amount of money, as he had admittedly never paid to play on a public court before.

"All I know is I've never paid a dime for a tennis court," he wrote

Another fan named bemoaned the state of affairs in New York.

"New York City has fallen"

Here are a few more reactions from the tennis community on social media:

Pickleball may be a real threat to tennis, with former players migrating to the new sport

The paddle sport seems to be catching on pretty quickly with the American public. Earlier on Sunday (29 August), former top-rung ATP players like Jack Sock and Donald Young were roped in to play on the PPA tour — which organizes all of the annual pickleball tournaments across the USA.

Tennis legends like Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, and Michael Chang were also invited to trade hits at the recent exhibition event Pickleball Slam at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida earlier this year. The fun gig raked in great TV ratings, with ESPN's coverage of the event having been watched by 237,000 people countrywide.

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines aspects of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. Because it is difficult for many casual sports fans to establish an entry-level interest in traditional racket sports due to their intricacy, the paddle sport serves as a quick fix for them to get into some sports entertainment.