We spoke about pickleball with Lucia Ugge, a pickleball instructor and player, as well as the director of Sportime Lombardia, a sports association that promotes various activities, including pickleball, through tournaments, courses, and open play.
How did you discover pickleball?
I’m a physical education teacher and a sports enthusiast. I’m always on the lookout for new physical activities, both for myself and for the students I teach.
I stumbled upon a pickleball instructor course in Gerenzano in 2022 and signed up out of curiosity. I immediately fell in love with pickleball and, as the sports director of the Sportime association, I proposed introducing pickleball in the areas where we are active, namely Bergamo and Lodi, near Milano.
What was the response in the area?
Very positive. I quickly noticed that those who try pickleball come back to play it. Sportime has access to two public gyms, where we marked the lines with tape and brought pickleball nets. Participation grew rapidly, and besides open play, we organized our first club tournament at Christmas 2022, with over 40 attendees.
What does pickleball mean to you personally?
For me, it’s both a professional interest and a passion for a sport that’s incredibly engaging and inclusive—perhaps the most fun sport I’ve ever practiced. To understand all aspects of pickleball, including the organizational side, I participated in some tournaments in Italy. In a few weeks, I’ll spend time in the United States, where I’ll also play in a professional league tournament in Miami.
Together with the association, we’re also developing the competitive side of the sport, organizing tournaments and targeted training sessions. While pickleball is less competitive and technically demanding than tennis, some players enjoy delving into its technical and competitive aspects. For this reason, we’ve created a dedicated group for tournament participation and are organizing training sessions for competitions. An Italian competitive circuit may soon emerge, thanks to our contacts and collaborations.
When is your next tournament?
In just a few days, at Sporting Milano 3, near Milan. We already have over 110 registered players, and registrations are still open! The tournament will take place over the weekend of March 2-3, 2024, on four indoor courts, with additional temporary courts to accommodate the large number of matches. On Saturday, we’ll hold the intermediate 3.5 level tournaments, and on Sunday, the 5.0 Open tournaments will take place.
Who typically plays pickleball?
Certainly older players, but young people are increasingly joining. Women are generally underrepresented in racquet sports, but in pickleball, the situation is much better than in tennis and padel. It’s a less aggressive and physical sport.
Pickleball is also highly inclusive, allowing men and women, young and old, to play together. This also creates opportunities for families to engage in physical activity together.
And it’s a highly social sport, too.
Absolutely. This aspect of group life and social interaction is less prominent in padel and tennis, but it’s a fundamental part of pickleball. People form groups, have fun, get to know each other, chat between games, and even meet up outside the court.
For this reason, I’m dedicating time to developing the community in Bergamo. The municipality supported us by allowing temporary pickleball courts to be marked in a public park. We manage regular events, and pickleball nights have been so successful that during the summer, we had as many as five courts in use. For winter, we’ve moved to the indoor courts at Milano 3.
What’s your experience with absolute beginners and “bangers”?
Over time, I’ve developed tricks and teaching methods for those trying pickleball for the first time. For example, I set aside the scoring rules, which can be quite complicated for beginners, and I ask them to focus on soft, low shots, spending the first hour exclusively doing dink shots at the kitchen line. This helps curb the natural tendency to hit tennis- or ping pong-like shots.
With bangers (especially former tennis players who always aim for power), the best way to change their approach is to beat them using typical pickleball shots—drop shots and dinks—soft and low balls that force opponents into errors.
How much time do you dedicate to pickleball, and what paddle do you use?
I play often. Whenever there’s a missing player, I’m asked to join, and I’m happy to do so. I started with a Gamma paddle, which I still use in certain situations, but now I mainly use a Selkirk Halo model, which offers less power but more control.