BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Boynton Beach hosted its first-ever Paddle Tap Pickleball tournament, a significant event bringing together 280 pickleball players.
Saturday was the soft opening of Rally Sports and Social Club located at 6600 High Ridge Road.
"It's about 20,000 square feet, and we've got about seven indoor pickleball courts," said Brian McMahon, Rally's chief pickleball officer.
With that much space, the complex knew they needed big-time events.
So, they teamed up this weekend with Paddle Tap Pickleball, which hosts tournaments and creates pickleball gear.
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"About two and a half years ago, Duane and I met each other on the pickleball court. We talked about the opportunity to work together and create our own company," said Paddle Tap Pickleball owners Alan Laymon and Duane Patchin.
Their first tournament was this weekend, with 280 pickleball players competing for medals.
No duo caught the crowd's attention like Kyle Kelman and Mackie Feierstein.
"We can communicate well together. Our shots complement each other. I think we play well together," Kelman said.
After losing their first match, the teammates said they know what to work on.
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"It was a fun experience, but this was a tough first match. We played well, but there are some things that we need to do better in the second match. Overall, it was fun," Feierstein said.
Kelman is 15 years old while Feierstein is 48. The two were strangers just a few weeks ago.
"I was doing a private lesson, and he joined, and we had a good connection out there, and we've been practicing the last few weeks," Feierstein said.
The eventual winners of the tournament were brothers Rey and Robby Greenlaw.
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"It's tough out there these days. We're trying to get the chemistry going, but we did good today," Robby Greenlaw said.
The Fort Myers siblings tore through the competition in the first few rounds.
Challenges would hit during their championship round when the duo was in a sudden-death matchup. However, they prevailed to take home the tournament title.
"That last serve was crazy, man. It was probably about 35 miles per hour. Real nice," Robby Greenlaw said.
"Just put the ball in play and make them play," Rey Greenlaw said when describing their strategy.