Masters on Display at Patch Reef

Former World No. 1 tennis player Ivan Lendl returned to Patch Reef Park, site of his first amateur pickleball gold medal, in a quest for his first gold as a professional.

Entering two different divisions at January's Boca Masters International Pickleball Tournament, Lendl and teammate Glen Jordan came close, claiming the silver medal in the Super Senior Pro division.

An eight-time Grand Slam singles winner who dominated the world tennis scene in the late 1980s, Lendl is enjoying a resurgence as a pickleball player.

Now in his mid-60s, Lendl says he's embraced pickleball because it's good exercise, he can play with friends, meet new people, and compete.

Rest assured, that competitive fire still burns.

“The couple matches we lost, we were ahead, and you never like to lose when you are ahead,” Lendl said following his elimination from the Pro Senior division on Sunday.

For Sunday's play Lendl, who lives in Vero Beach, teamed with Boca Raton resident and former Major League Pickleball CEO Brian Levine - one of the principal partners in Boca Paddle, the group contracted to build an indoor pickleball facility in North Park.

Lendl's hands at the kitchen line complement Levine's ability to cover the baseline. But it's Lendl's ability to understand pickleball strategy that truly impresses Levine.

“What made him such a good tennis player is how disciplined and strategic he is, which I  really like because that's kind of how I play,” Levine said. “So we kind of stick to a plan and it's really interesting learning. He's still pretty new to pickleball, so he likes hearing what the strategies are.”

Lendl and Levine were two of some 600 players from 34 states and seven countries who competed in the fourth annual Boca Masters, held Jan. 9 – Jan. 12.

Event organizer Carl Foster of Foster Events estimates 4,000 players and pickleball fans passed through the Patch Reef Park Tennis Center gates during the four-day event.

Patch Reef already boasts 12 outdoor pickleball courts. To accommodate tournament play, four tennis courts were converted to temporary pickleball courts (they have been returned to tennis play), plus a rolled court covered the main tennis stadium court.

“It's a good partnership,” Foster said of working with District-owned Patch Reef. “We do a lot of other tournaments, but Boca is my favorite one to run.” 

Foster said the tournament operated smoothly – except when Mother Nature stepped in. A three-hour rain delay on Saturday kept Lendl on the court late into the night.

That shouldn't be a problem next year. Steel beams that will support a roof covering 18 new pickleball courts are currently rising from the land adjacent to Patch Reef's Tennis Center.  

Construction on Patch Reef's covered pickleball complex is expected to be completed before the end of the year. 

“The excitement of that facility going up, we're hoping that by next January we'll have those 18 covered courts and won't have the rain delays that we had,” Foster said.

Foster is already looking forward to the fifth annual Boca Masters.

“I've had several people say that this is their favorite tournament of the year,” Foster said. “I like to hear that stuff. They say they'll always be back, that they love the experience. That's what we try to provide. Barbara (Cytrynowicz), the people that run Patch Reef, really work with us closely and help us with the facility.”