THE VILLAGES, Fla. \u2013 The rapid \u201cpop\u201d of pickleball paddles \u2014 a signature sound of one of the nation\u2019s fastest-growing sports \u2014 is now at the center of a growing dispute in The Villages.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of residents have signed a petition asking for noise mitigation near the Saluki Recreation Center, where multiple pickleball courts sit close to residential homes. The petition does not call for the sport to be shut down, but instead asks for solutions to reduce the impact of the sound.<\/p>\n
Residents who signed the petition say the repetitive noise carries into nearby homes, affecting their quality of life.<\/p>\n
The issue was brought to Sumter County leaders in an effort to pursue a noise ordinance. However, county officials said they cannot enforce one in this case due to a development agreement tied to The Villages.<\/p>\n
[COVERING PICKLEBALL: The Picklr goes high-tech to take pickleball to another level]<\/p>\n
That agreement limits how local noise regulations can be applied in the area, effectively leaving enforcement up to the community itself.<\/p>\n
Despite the concerns, not all residents agree that the noise is a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I think it\u2019s a little ridiculous. I have not heard that people are complaining about it because I think everybody loves to play it here,\u201d Sienna Jepsen said.<\/p>\n
Others say pickleball is a major reason they chose to live in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what we come here for. This is why we bought a home in the village, as was for all the activities, and to be able to stay active,\u201d said, Lea Thiel, a resident who lives near the courts.<\/p>\n
Some potential solutions have been discussed, including quieter, \u201cnoise-reducing\u201d paddles. However, those paddles can cost around $200, which some residents say is not a realistic option.<\/p>\n
\u201cA solution would be to offer the quieter pickleball paddles in the rec centers,\u201d Allie Wilson suggested.<\/p>\n
[COVERING THE VILLAGES: Benefits expert explains why UnitedHealthcare, The Villages Health contract talks drag on]<\/p>\n
To better understand the concern, a decibel-reading app was used near homes closest to the courts. The sound measured around 50 decibels \u2014 roughly equivalent to an office setting or light rain.<\/p>\n
Still, opinions remain divided.<\/p>\n
\u201cFind a way to deal with it,\u201d one resident said. \u201cPlay some music on your lanai if you\u2019re outside\u2026 we\u2019re all just trying to have some fun and relax and stay healthy,\u201d said Thiel<\/p>\n
With Sumter County unable to intervene, residents seeking change may have to bring their concerns directly to The Villages leadership.<\/p>\n
Breaking News Alerts<\/p>\n
Get breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE VILLAGES, Fla. \u2013 The rapid \u201cpop\u201d of pickleball paddles \u2014 a signature sound of one of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140,7873,3315,3690],"class_list":["post-204451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-pickleball","tag-sumter-county","tag-the-villages"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}