Nonna’s US Pickleball Diaries

Family Photo: Sarah Burr (sister) is the tall one, Rebecca ( Bec) Kingsley (sister),
Sandra "Nonna" Kingsley (mother) and Don Kingsley (father).
Bec Won The 4.0 35+ Women's Singles Gold Medal

The 2022 US Open Pickleball Championships Team Australia Report 

1. Day 1:  After about 4 hours sleep the girls were having pickleball withdrawals so decided to go out into the carpark after breakfast and do some dinking and volley practice, as it was a bit too noisy in the room, although Bec did a little dinking in the elevator lol! 
2. Day 2: This morning after an early breakfast we drove down to Naples Pier just after sunrise, to take in this beautiful part of Florida.
3. Day 3: After driving back to Fort Myers RSW airport near midnight last night,to pick up Shannon and Dion from their flight from Australia, Sarah, Shannon and Don decided to have a bit of fun on the luggage trolley after they helped Dion to his room with his wheelchairs and baggage.  
4. Day 4: Another early start to the Minto US Open Pickleball venue for a practice session with the team, before joining the social games a bit later in the morning! The whole team were on 🔥 today, so much so that the Naples fire department made an appearance. 
5. Day 5: We all seem to be waking up around 3-4am, so always end up having an early breakfast then leaving for the courts early. Today is Magarittaville Party Day and the last day for free practice on the 59 pickleball courts being used for this tournament. 
6. Day 6: With the first day of tournament play looming, the excitement was building as we made our way to the Minto US Open Pickleball venue.
7. Day 7: Monday was the mens and Womens Age doubles events and the Pro Split/ Age doubles.
   First up this morning was the Mens Pro Split Age with Martin and his partner Hercilio Cabieses and Mike and his partner Sherbear Sherry.
   Video: Simone Jardim vs Sarah Burr
   Photo: Simone Jardim and Sarah Burr (Julie Johnson is in the background)
8. Day 8:  Another early 6.30am start this morning to practice before the 8am start for Mixed Pro Split/ Age Doubles. Martin and Sarah got off to a great start winning their first pro doubles match together 11/9, 11/3.
9. Day 9: Today was Mens Senior Pro Doubles day and Mens skill/ Age Doubles.
   Martin and Mike were first cab off the rank at 8.00am against John Moore and Eric Kennedy in the Mens Senior Pro Doubles.   
10. Day 10: We started the day with Dion on centre court for his Parapickleball Doubles with partner Jf Sylvester, and prior to the start a photo moment of all the Parapickleball athletes together. 
11. Day 11: After a beautiful sunrise this morning, the adrenaline was pumping thru the veins of the Aussie team super duo of Martin and Mike on court 43 in anticipation of their 8am Mens Doubles Pro match against the world #1 mens doubles partners Ben and Collin Johns! 
12. Day 12: Well , after the rain delays yesterday afternoon, the Saturday schedule was delayed as the catch up matches were completed. The Pro finals were to be brought forward to start at 11am due to a major rain depression with thunder and lightning expected in the afternoon.  (Video: Ceremony Of Flags)
13. Day 13: Well my last US entry as our holiday and the tournament comes to an end. The Australian team has had an amazing time…taking home some beautiful memories and experiences, new friendships, and a few medals as well! 
14. Last Day In The US: We drove down to Vanderbilt Beach and went for a walk along the shore before cutting back thru the Carlton Ritz hotel back to our car. The sand here was a lot nicer than the sand the previous day at Miami Beach Florida, the Carlton Ritz was very impressive and over US$1000 per night for a room, the grounds were amazing. 

Wink News April 29, 2022

East Naples hosts US Open Pickleball Championship with record $100K prize 

“Brazil, Singapore, we have a great group from Australia, even a wheelchair player that flew all the way here from Australia,” said Chis Evon, co-founder of the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships. “That’s really exciting this year, we didn’t get that last year because a lot of the international travel was down.” 

Sarah Burr came all the way from Australia to play in the tournament.”This is beyond our expectations and never seen anything of this scale in Pickleball,” Sarah said. “We are just blown away by it, the people, the atmosphere, the facility, it’s amazing,”