‘Nonstop pop:’ Some Avondale Estates neighbors say pickleball too noisy, start petition

AVONDALE ESTATES, Ga. — Some residents of Avondale Estates find themselves in a pickle over pickleball, saying the sport is too loud. Now, they want the city to do something about it.

“It’s just nonstop pop-pop-pop-pop-pop,” said Ross Rubenstein, who lives a few houses down from the Avondale Swim and Tennis Club, where four courts are open to pickleball players.

“It’s just not really conducive to being played close to people’s houses in a residential neighborhood. It’s a very loud sport.”

He and his wife work from home, and he said the popping is sometimes so loud that his wife has to wear noise-canceling headphones. He started a petition to prompt the city to make efforts to lower the volume.

“It’s very high-pitched,” he said. “I think that’s part of the problem because that sound tends to cut through.”

Avondale Estates commissioners have met to discuss the concerns.

City manager Patrick Bryant said short-term solutions include putting noise reduction curtains on the fences around the courts. The city could also limit the hours people play and charge an admission fee.

“We have to balance the enthusiasm for the sport and the well-being (of) those residents who live around the courts,” Bryant said.

A long-term solution would be to move the courts away from any residential area. He said the city is in discussions with a property owner about installing pickleball courts, which would be away from homes.

“There’s a whole swath of measures that we’re looking at, and we’re just gonna try and figure out which one of these, or which combination of these, works the best,” Bryant said.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. It says there were 8.9 million players in the U.S. in 2023, up from 4.8 million the year before.

“Heck, this is a sport people my age can play, and we need physical activity,” said Kathy Cavallaro, who joins her pickleball partners three times a week at the Avondale Swim and Tennis Club.

Fellow player Brenda Shugart lives in Avondale Estates and has heard about the noise complaints.

“I could complain about my neighbor yelling for her cat in the middle of the night, but I don’t,” she said.” It’s just people living, and this is part of living.”