Corey Loyd The Fourth Annual Battle for the Saddle pickleball competition between SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch (SBR) pickleball players was held Oct. 28, 29, and 30 at the new Oro Valley Picklr pickleball center. For the first time, SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) captured the overall trophy, which now resides at SaddleBrooke’s Robson Pickleball Center. Congratulations,…
Evelyn Wiltshire You know the saying: Families who play together, stay together! Research shows that spending enjoyable time together, especially doing fun or active things, builds strong family relationships and forges closer emotional bonds. This was fully evident on Nov. 28 when the SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) hosted Grandchildren’s Day on the pickleball courts! More…
Corey Loyd Pickleball is now the fastest-growing sport in America for the fourth year in a row, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). Its popularity is soaring nationwide, especially among seniors, and SaddleBrooke is no exception. With 14 courts at the Robson Pickleball Center (RPC) located in the heart of SaddleBrooke and…
David Zapatka No man’s land, sometimes referred to as the transition area, aka the kitchen, is the area of the pickleball court between the non-volley zone line and the baseline. Think of it as a space 11 feet long and 20 feet wide; two feet behind the non-volley zone line and two feet inside the…
Gary Pelphrey Cooler weather and the return of snowbirds mean one thing—pickleball season is in full swing! The SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) courts are buzzing again, and there’s plenty of action both locally and beyond. Pickleball keeps booming! For the fourth year in a row, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. And here’s…
David Zapatka Reader Ann Howard writes, “Hi David, been reading your column in Robson Ranch Views. I’m a 3.5 player, in my 70s, and got a new paddle almost three years ago. I play regularly two to three times per week. I have been making more mistakes than usual and wondering if it’s me, the paddle,…
Linda Schmitz My husband and I both enjoy an active lifestyle. So, naturally, community amenities were an important consideration when searching for a place to relocate. We started playing pickleball a few years ago for exercise and social connection, and we love the game. For this reason, pickleball courts were a highly sought-after amenity to…
Corey Loyd The SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) includes a wide range of members, but one standout group is the Octogenarians—those aged 80 to 89—who continue to impress both on and off the court. These remarkable players bring experience, tenacity, and sharp skills to every match, playing four to five times a week around golf games…
Gary Pelphrey As I sit here, benched by surgery and watching the Arizona sun turn the courts into a frying pan, I can’t help but hear Joni Mitchell singing in my head, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” Right now, my pickleball paddle is gathering dust, and when I am in the…
Rhonda Murray When I moved to SaddleBrooke at 55, people kept asking me the same thing: “Are you even old enough to live here?” I’d laugh and reply, “Apparently just barely—but I made it!” What I didn’t expect was how right it would feel. Before we even unpacked a single box, I had been eyeing…