San Carlos, Mexico has a very active pickleball community with beginner and advanced players playing at a dozen courts around town.
Find local places to play, rules and other info on the sport:
Local places to play Pickleball in San Carlos
The San Carlos Pickleball Club has a beautiful 14 court facility. Everyone is welcome to join the San Carlos Pickleball Club. For a small yearly fee, you’ll get lots of membership benefits and support pickleball in the community. Learn more here and find out the costs and benefits of joining (like open play, scheduled play, drill clinics, guided play, tournaments, social events and more).
Website: sancarlospickleball.com. Come join us and join the fun!
Email: info@sancarlospickleball.com
The Athleticlub San Carlos also has a couple courts. Click here for hours, contact info and photos. And, some gated communities in San Carlos have pooled resources and built member-only courts, including Loma del Mar and Tecalai.
San Carlos Pickleball Tournaments:
Registration is now open for the Sombrero Showdown Pickleball Tournament & Cross Border Games from February 4 to 9, 2025.
Join us in February for an action-packed week of pickleball in San Carlos, featuring two exciting tournaments.
- Sombrero Showdown Tournament. February 4 – 6: Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed Doubles.
- Celebration Day February 7 (or day off for those who prefer to rest)
- Cross Border Games. February 8 – 9: A fun team-play GLP tournament.
You can choose to compete in either one or both tournaments—it’s up to you! Bring your friends to San Carlos, book your travels and prepare for an incredible week of pickleball, sun, sea, and sand in San Carlos.
For more information on these 2 tournaments, click here.
Register for the Sombrero Showdown here. And, register for the Cross Border Games here.
Learn Pickleball, Tuesdays
Fulfill one of your goals this year by starting a new sport. Learn pickleball, the fun sport for all ages and abilities, and be part of a big welcoming community.
The San Carlos Pickleball Club is offering a Tuesday Beginner Promotion Package.
On Tuesday, from 11:00am to 12:00pm learn pickleball with Karen Kettenacker at the San Carlos Pickleball Club. This will be a group beginner lesson.
The cost is 350 pesos which includes a day pass to the facility and the lesson (the package value is 850 pesos per person). Feel free to stay after the lesson and practice what you’ve learned.
If you feel you’re ready after the lesson, you can sign up for that night’s Tuesday Round Robin that starts at 6:00pm. You’ll be grouped with other beginners for a fun evening of pickleball. Normally this event costs 100 pesos for members and 150 pesos for non-members, but we’ll waive the fee for those taking the lesson in the morning.
We provide balls and can lend you a paddle for both the lesson and the Round Robin event.
Register in advance here. For more information, contact: +52-622-165-1762.
Pickleball Links
USA Pickleball Association: The USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) was organized to promote the growth and development of pickleball, on both a national and international level. This organization provides players with official rules, tournaments, rankings and promotional materials.
The International Federation of Pickleball Official Rules: click here.
The Pickleball Channel and Poach PB on YouTube have lots of useful tips, how-to videos and full games.
What is Pickleball?
What’s bigger than a ping pong paddle, smaller than a tennis racquet, and shorter than a badminton raquet? The answer is: a Pickleball Paddle. One of the fastest growing sports in North America, pickleball is a racquet sport which combines elements of badminton, tennis, and ping pong. Two to four players use flat-sided solid paddles made of wood, composite or graphite to hit a perforated plastic ball over a net.
The sport that was invented in the mid 1960’s by American Joel Pritchard has hit San Carlos by storm, and now many of us find ourselves looking for a court and some friends to play with. It is popular for men and women of all ages and skill levels. It works areas that few other sports do – improving your agility, balance and reaction time – without excessive wear-and-tear on your body.
According to Wikipedia, the unusual name of the game originated with the Pritchard’s family dog, a puppy named Pickles. While playing the backyard game with family and friends, Pickles frequently disrupted the action by stealing the ball. The dog’s affinity for the ball led the family to call it Pickle’s ball, which spawned the name for the game.
The pickleball court is similar to a doubles badminton court. The actual size of the court is 20 × 44 feet for both doubles and singles and a net and rules similar to tennis with a few modifications. The ball is served underhand from behind the baseline, diagonally to the opponent’s service zone.
Points are scored by the serving side only and occur when the opponent faults (fails to return the ball, hits the ball out of bounds, steps into the ‘kitchen” area [the first seven feet from the net, also known as the non-volley zone] in the act of volleying the ball, etc.). There are specific rules about playing in the ‘kitchen’, about allowing the ball to bounce before hitting it, and strategies about when to stay back along the baseline and when to get closer to the net. The first side scoring 11 points and leading by at least two points wins.
Although the court is quite a bit smaller than that used for tennis, you’ll be surprised at the work-out you’ll get after an hour of play!
Warm-up Tips and Drills
Watch this instructional video with warm-up tips and drills:
