NEED-TO-KNOW PICKLEBALL

style magazine Racquet, told The New York Times that she sees pickleball as no different than flashes in the pan such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs. But other tennis players are embracing the increasingly popular sport. Tennis greats John McEnroe, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick competed in a pickleball tournament in January, which led to

BY THE NUMBERS

36.5 MILLION

Number of pickleball players in the US

18-34

Largest age bracket of pickleball players (28.8% of total)

$152.8 MILLION

Pickleball paddle market size in 2021

158.6%

3-year average growth rate

10,320

Number of places to play in the US

7.7%

Forecasted compound annual growth rate through 2028

Agassi and Roddick walking away with the $1 million purse.

The public in general sometimes pushes back against pickleball. The balls, which resemble whiffle balls (but to be clear they’re not, so don’t call them that) make a distinct popping sound that seems to grate on some people’s nerves. Neighbors near a group of Denver pickleball courts complained about the racket the paddles and hard plastic balls create, for example.

The voices of pickleball are also a little louder than tennis, partially because of the sociable nature of the game. Opposing players or teams are much closer together, which makes it that much easier to have a friendly—albeit sometimes winded—conversation. Noise issues don’t seem to be a problem in Santa Fe, yet.

The game continues to gain momentum. According to Pickleheads.com, the number of pickleball players increased by nearly 160% in the past three years, making pickleball the fastest-growing sport in the US, right behind cycling and running. National competitions are serious business and there’s an emerging paddle racket too: Ben Johns, the top-rated men’s singles pickleball player in the US, has his own signature paddle that goes for a cool $250.

Anna Leigh Waters, who’s leading the pack in women’s single play at 16, seems to also confirm that it’s not a sport relegated to grandparents.

Even as fast as the sport is spreading in the City Different, it has a way to go compared to other cities and states.

Seattle, where the sport originated, is dominating when it comes to the number of available courts, with 49 spots to play. Even Tucson, the city with the tenthmost number of courts, boasts 29 places to play. Texas as a whole has almost 520 places to dink and ranks third in the nation for the number of courts.

Still, the pickleball scene is expanding in Santa Fe faster than the city can devote space. Lawton says club membership increased from 200 to 500 people in one year. The rapid spread of the sport might be attributed to the fact that nearly everyone who plays tries to recruit others at any chance they get. Lawton says it’s an easy sport to learn, even with its complex scoring.

“I tell people, ‘Don’t worry about it until you play five times, and just ask somebody to help you,’” she says.

Romero-Wirth can’t seem to praise pickleball enough.

“I just think it’s a great sport,” she says. “I’m very enthusiastic about it and it makes me smile.”

Up All Night

With Pride month still popping off through the end of June, we have to talk about 2014 Australian horror film, The Babadook. Plot-wise, writer/director Jennifer Kent’s opus follows a widow and mother who isn’t sure if the thing haunting her constitutes an actual, tangible evil presence, or simply hallucinations from the fallout of grief-based insomnia. Either way, the Babadook itself became a queer icon after Netflix mistakenly listed the film in an LGBTQ section of its streaming offerings in 2017. Chalk this one up to the internet’s weirdness sometimes being pretty cool, but know, also, that if you’ve never seen Kent’s excellent film, now’s the time to do so at numerous screenings at the Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Alex De Vore)

The Babadook: 6 pm and 8 pm Thursday, June 29

3:30 pm Friday, June 30. $10-$26. Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 466-5528

MUSIC FRI/30

JAMIE WOLLRAB

OYE, OZO

Once upon a time, you could rely on seeing Los Angeles-based salsa/rock/hip-hop/funk act Ozomatli in Santa Fe pretty regularly, but things like life and pandemics get in the way, and it’s hard to recall the last time they rolled through. That’s a pity, too, because folks who’ve seen the band live can surely attest to its members’ uncanny ability to unite fans of any genre under the banner of dope beats and a sort of activist message of unity, equity and inclusion. Think of Ozomatli as a group with punk rock sensibilities and a mission to get booties shaking. Or, if you prefer, come for the hip-hop elements, stay for the forays into sexy rhythms. Oh, it’s also outside and totally free. (ADV) Ozomatli: 7 pm Friday, June 30. Free. Santa Fe Railyard Market and Alcaldesa streets, lensic360.org

EVENT SAT/1-SUN/2

RED? WHITE? SOMETHING IN-BETWEEN?

Face it, nerds, Santa Fe’s a wine town, and we’re actually here for that given the fascinating history and agriculture surrounding the grapiest of alcoholic drinks (sorry, sour grape-flavored Four Loko). Anyway, if you fancy yourself a wine person in this-here wine town, perhaps you should mosey on over to El Rancho de las Golondrinas this weekend for the 29th iteration of the Santa Fe Wine Festival. Wineries from around the state will show up to strut their stuff, and that’s not even getting into the food, the local vendors and the living history museum’s fantastic grounds. This is the longest-running wine fest in the state, too, so there’s something to that. Anyway, it’s wine, buds—don’t forget your ID. (ADV)

29th Santa Fe Wine Festival: Noon-6 pm Saturday, July 1 and Sunday July 2. $8-$20 (kids under 12 free)

El Rancho de las Golondrinas, 334 Los Pinos Road (505) 471-2261

Rain Down

Teatro Paraguas strips down for Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain

Actors Lewis Pullman and Shaun Sipos didn’t have to delve into the world of black box theater in Santa Fe given their roles on the wildly popular Josh Brolin-led television series Outer Range. But when it comes to mounting a new production of the 2007 Keith Huff play A Steady Rain, there’s an emotional component. At least that’s according to co-producer Mimi Erskine, who describes the opening weekend’s performance as “magical and electric,” thanks to its actors’ shared commitment.

Huff based A Steady Rain at least partly on real-life events, namely the policemen who returned a young Konerak Sinthasomphone to Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment after the former initially escaped the serial killer’s clutches. A Steady Rain focuses on the aftermath of a similar exchange, only rather than dissect the subsequent murder itself, it explores what happens when people of authority screw up so badly. In real life, Milwaukee cops Joseph Gabrish and John Balcerzak were fired, though ultimately reinstated; in Huff’s play, things take a darker turn for the cops he places in Chicago, if you can believe it. No spoilers, but co-producer Erskine says there hasn’t been a dry eye in the house for the entire run. Much of that, she says, comes down to the acting. Director Jamie Wollrab employs a stripped-down minimalism, according to Erskine—a couple chairs and a table—the rest left to lighting, sound cues and Sipos’ and Pullman’s chops.

“Everything is told with their incredible acting,” Erskine explains. “I’ve been doing theater my whole life and I’ve never seen a show like this.”

The accomplished actors simply wanted to explore what happens when the set dressing and tech gets out of the way of exploratory performance. What unfolds is by turns heartbreaking and powerful and exactly the sort of theater that lures actors into the fold in the first place. Please note Teatro Paraguas has limited seating and tickets might go fast. Hurry. (Alex

De Vore)

A STEADY RAIN

7 pm Thursday, June 29-Saturday, July 1 3 pm Sunday, July 2. $25-$30 Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie(505) 424-1601