3rd Annual SRV Pickleball Open Recap
There are some iconic sporting events in May including the Kentucky Derby and Indianapolis 500, and I think you can add the Strong River Valley (SRV) Pickleball Open to that list now. This event has grown substantially over the first 3 years of the tournament. This year’s tournament was a big event for The Valley. It had a football-like atmosphere; people were tailgating in the parking lot beforehand. Over 60 players participated in the tournament, and there were over 500 spectators for the finals. Valleyans are in love with pickleball.
The women’s favorite, Mary Grace Evert, was injured, so she wasn’t able to play in the tournament. So, that opened up the door to Valleyan and fan favorite, Veanus Vanderford. She breezed through the draw, but she had a battle in the finals from young upstart, Steffi Seles. Seles, a Madison native and BMW owner, has really burst on the scene this year, and she’s currently ranked #5 in the MS Women’s Pickleball rankings. Vanderford’s experience really paid off late in the match, and she pulled it out in a close one. There was a lot of tension between Vanderford’s fans and the Madisonians backing Seles, but things didn’t get out of hand. There’s always tension between the Valleyans and the city slickers from Jackson and Madison.
Vanderford and her partner, Sarena Smith, just dominated the women’s doubles draw. They breezed to the finals and won easily. The men’s doubles final was a must watch match. It was a rematch of last year’s final- Johnny McEnroe and Steve Edberg vs. Ethan Burnham and Owen Patrick. Burnham and Patrick are from Strong River Bend, and they brought a big contingent of raucous fans. The attorneys from Madison, McEnroe and Edberg, seemed unfazed by the crowd. But, things got tight toward the end of the match. Burnham and Patrick made a furious comeback, and tied things up late. The crowd was going nuts. But, McEnroe and Edberg managed to pull it out it in the end in a thriller.
The drama this year was in the men’s senior division. The women’s and men’s senior division was new this year, and it was for players age 65 plus. Jimmy Laver was the favorite in the men’s senior division. Laver plays an aggressive fiery style, and he rubs a lot of people the wrong way. He breezed to the final without ever cracking a smile. He faced Billy Tilden in the final. Tilden is a nice guy that loves to talk to the crowd and his opponents. He started talking to Laver before the match, but Laver ignored him. Tilden continued to talk throughout the match, and you could see that it was bothering Laver. Laver led a close match late, but he made an error on an easy smash. Tilden made a comment, and Laver just lost it. He starting cursing Tilden, and he told him to shut up and not say another word. The fans were taken aback with Laver’s outburst. Tilden ended up winning in a big upset. Laver was so mad after the match that he stormed off the court, and he didn’t shake Tilden’s hand after the match. The fans booed Laver, and he turned around and gave them the middle finger.
Tilden said, “Look, I wasn’t trying to get under his skin initially. I like to talk, so I just talk to everybody. But, Jimmy just ignored me from the start. That kind of made me mad, but I didn’t show it. I just kept talking and kept playing. I didn’t know it, but Jimmy was like a volcano. And, when he missed that smash, he erupted, and it was over after that. I really got in his head. He’s gonna have to learn to deal with my talking. And come on man, you gotta shake my hand. That was pretty lame.”
This tournament was so much fun to cover, and I can’t wait until next year. It’ll continue to grow, and it’s a great event for The Valley.