A Note From The Editors

The Pickle Post is, as of this writing, the only daily publication in America dedicated exclusively to the coverage of pickleball. We expect this to remain true for some time.

We were founded in early 2026, in the back room of the Greenwood Community Recreation Center, between courts 6 and 7, by a small group of journalists and one extremely reluctant husband. Our mission is straightforward: to cover pickleball with the seriousness, rigor, and editorial independence the sport deserves — which, by our own internal estimates, is somewhat more than it has earned.

We are aware that the major American newspapers do not currently have pickleball desks. We do not believe this is sustainable. The sport is the fastest-growing in the United States by participation. It has produced its first millionaires, its first scandals, and its first sustained interpersonal conflicts on a national scale. It is past time someone took it seriously, and we are prepared to be that someone.

Our staff includes five reporters covering distinct beats. Annie Whitford, our senior correspondent, files dispatches on court politics, etiquette, and what she has described in editorial meetings as “the moral state of the sport.” Marcus Chen oversees equipment coverage, with particular expertise in paddles, grip tape, and what he insists on calling “the post-Joola consensus.” Diane Pemberton, formerly of the Greenwood Bulletin, covers community affairs and municipal pickleball governance with the same gravity she once brought to the school board. Tyler Brennan reports on the professional circuit. Gary Whitford contributes occasional essays from his home, which is near, but not at, the rec center.

We will publish daily. We will issue corrections when warranted, which we expect will be often. We will not take sides in the great paddle debates, the stacking discourse, or the ongoing dispute between Annie Whitford and a man identified in our records only as “Doug.” We will report the facts as they happen, and the facts are usually that someone has done something embarrassing.

A note on our funding: we have none. The Pickle Post is operated at a loss by people who believed this needed to exist and were unable to find anyone to talk them out of it. Sponsorship inquiries may be directed to the editor.

We welcome our readers, all of whom appear to be members of Annie’s extended family at this time. We hope to grow that audience in the coming months.

Pickleball is a serious sport. It deserves a serious publication.

We are, with reservations, that publication.

— The Editors