SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department is serving up new opportunities for pickleball play through new dual-lined courts and expanded open play times, officials announced today. Additional improvements include a new online reservation system and a tennis-pickleball planning roundtable to better address increased demand and improve access to court time for both racket sports.
Moscone Park Playground
The paint on the new dual lines is currently drying on two tennis courts at Moscone Park Playground, providing six new pickleball courts. Dedicated hours for both pickleball and tennis will ensure access for all. Players can reserve courts for either tennis or pickleball at sfrecpark.org. Pickleball open play hours (no reservation required) will begin March 23 on:
- Mondays and Wednesdays: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Sundays: 2 p.m. -5 p.m.
Reservations can be made for pickleball or tennis on:
- Mondays: 3 p.m. until dark.
- Tuesdays, Thursday, and Fridays 3 to-6 p.m.
- Saturdays and Sundays: 5 p.m. until dark
Rossi Playground
At Rossi Playground, new dedicated open play hours for pickleball will also begin March 23. Four courts are available with the following open play schedule:
- Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Saturdays: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sundays: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Reservations can be made for pickleball or tennis on:
- Mondays: 3 p.m. until dark
- Tuesdays, Thursday, and Fridays: 1 p.m. until dark
- Saturdays and Sundays: 5 p.m. until dark
More courts on the way
Three more pickleball courts will be available for play this spring:
- Two additional courts at Alta Plaza Park created by dual-lining half of a multi-use court.
- One dedicated pickleball court at Rossi Playground, converted from an underutilized volleyball court.
Roundtable formed to look at underused public spaces to accommodate future growth
Also today, Recreation and Parks, and leadership from the tennis and pickleball communities announced the formation of the San Francisco Tennis and Pickleball Planning Roundtable (SF-TAPP) which will be led by three community leaders from both sports. The group will be chaired and led by Martha Ehrenfeld, a competitive tennis and pickleball player and current board member of the San Francisco Parks Alliance. Ehrenfeld will be joined by co-chairs Hans Carter and Peg Stevenson. Carter is an avid and experienced pickleball proponent who has played pickleball at both competitive and pick-up levels. Stevenson is a co-chair of Tennis Coalition of San Francisco with expertise in public policy and city performance planning. Leadership from Rec and Park Planning and Property Management will support the process.
The group will gather user survey data and hold one or more public meetings to hear feedback. SF-TAPP hopes to identify additional under-utilized spaces in and outside of the city’s park system to add to the inventory of dedicated pickleball spaces that reduce user conflict with the tennis community and nearby neighbors. When finished, SF-TAPP will submit its recommendations to the Recreation and Parks Commission for approval.
With the addition of the new pickleball opportunities announced today, Rec and Park will be pausing conversion of tennis courts into dedicated pickleball complexes and any further dual lining of courts until this process is completed. Over the past five years, the department has increased its number of pickleball courts seven-fold, bringing the number of courts from just 12 in 2018 to nearly 90 places to play today.
New reservation system
In April, Rec and Park will unveil a new online reservation system to better ensure access to park sport courts for all users. The new system will provide a daily schedule for courts, an organized method for professionals to offer lessons, and ensure fairness by preventing users from making multiple reservations under different account names.
For more information about pickleball in the Rec and Park system, including how to reserve a court, where to play, and what’s new, please click here.
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