CARLSBAD — Members of the U.S. National Pickleball Team will play exhibition matches as part of the grand opening of Pickleball Republic Carlsbad South.
The new facility on Corte Del Nogal includes 10 indoor courts and two outdoor courts, available for play seven days a week. The facility underwent a soft launch about six months ago and plans to hold its grand opening Aug. 22, with more than 20 vendors, some of the sport’s top players and other on-site festivities.
“We want to make it feel like you’re a part of something,” said co-founder Shawn Walker. “Kind of like a social club, you want to feel like this is your place. This is where you meet your people.”
Walker founded The Pickleball Club of Carlsbad in 2020 with his wife, Rufina Walker. There, the couple befriended Andy and Tiffany Slipka.
“They just love playing pickleball; it didn’t matter where it was,” Andy said of the Walkers. “We got infected too. Like, we just wanted to be there every day we could, once we finally kind of got over that hump.
“I feel like there’s a journey that people go on when they play pickleball. It’s this sort of intimidation, trepidation, ‘do I fit in? Is this the spot for me?’ It can take a minute, because it’s a little intimidating when you walk into a place and people are wailing on each other. And all of a sudden you’re doing it. So from that side, we really fell in love.”
Slipka added that structural issues at The Shoppes at Carlsbad location prompted conversations that ultimately led to the creation of Pickleball Republic, a new venture the group hopes to expand to three to five locations across the region.
Pickleball Republic’s expansion comes as another indoor pickleball facility prepares to open in Carlsbad. The Picklr, a Utah-based franchise, plans to open a 36,300-square-foot club with 10 indoor courts at 5830 El Camino Real in late August.
Shawn Walker said one goal is to meet prospective players wherever they are in their experience with the sport.
“We do trainings, classes, lessons,” he said. “If you want to be better at pickleball, we have a way to do that. We have intro to pickleball classes every week, which is one of our most popular classes.”
Walker added that they hope the space will provide a kind of third place for fitness- and community-minded people.
“There’s chairs everywhere, there’s tables everywhere, there’s couches,” he said. “This is really a place you hang out.”
Building on that idea is the connected Mahjong Republic.
Both pickleball and mahjong boomed in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as people looked for ways to stay connected.
“I haven’t had too many people say they don’t like pickleball,” Walker said.
After the interview, Walker played a game with his father, Randy, and son, Cooper, demonstrating the sport’s longevity and intergenerational appeal.
Shawn said that sense of inclusivity pervades the entire operation.
“We want to make sure that everyone has access,” Shawn said. “There was a little bit of a feeling like that in tennis back in the day that there’s the country club tennis players and there’s the public court tennis players. But we want this place to be a country club for everyone. Everyone has access here.”
Pickleball Republic Carlsbad South is located at 2045 Corte Del Nogal in Carlsbad, near Palomar Airport Road and El Camino Real. Mahjong Republic is located inside the Pickleball Republic building. Guests can access Mahjong Republic through the building’s main lobby rather than the garage entrance.
