After hours of nonstop racket, the Glyndon pickleball court lay silent the night of Oct. 25, giving nearby residents a rare moment of peace. Despite the numerous time restrictions instated on the Glyndon Park pickleball court in recent years due to noise complaints, late night pickleball prowlers still take to the court after hours, upsetting nearby residents. Fed up with the Town of Vienna’s failure to control residents’ insatiable late-night pickleball appetite, for one unknown resident, the solution became clear.

Equipped with syrup, the culprit crept across the pickleball court, break(fast)ing and entering. Dousing the pickleball courts in syrup, the act of sweet revenge was one small step for this resident, but one giant leap for all pickleball noise victims. According to the Vienna Police Department’s crime highlights, syrup was poured over the pickleball courts between midnight and 8:30 a.m. Though the exact time is unknown, by the time the sky was sunny-side-up, the courts were certainly in a sticky situation, unable to be used. 

As of the publishing of this article, the syrup culprit has not been identified, but this was not the first retaliation from residents concerning the Glyndon pickleball court noise, and it will likely not be the last. The resident who reported the incident also observed that another unspecified liquid had been poured on the courts on Oct. 11. But the issue itself stretches back to quarantine times, when pickleball was gaining traction locally.

Since the renovation of Glyndon Park’s two tennis courts into four pickleball courts in October of 2020, the conflict between pickleball enthusiasts and nearby residents has only intensified. Just in 2022, six separate noise violations concerning this particular court were called in, only two of the violations being about the same people, per the Vienna Police Department crime highlights. But this battle between pickleball prowlers and angered residents isn’t just a local issue, rather, a state-wide epidemic. 

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America, seeing domestic playership double in 2022, and increase by 158.6% just in the last three years. Noise complaints may seem excessive, especially to those who have yet to dabble in pickleball, but it can prove quite disruptive to residents’ lives. The sound of a pickleball hitting a paddle reaches a decibel level of 70 dBA when measured 100 feet away from the court, a stark contrast to tennis reaching 40 dBA. For reference, the level of noise is just short of that of a vacuum cleaner, which is 75 dBA.

“I live across the street from Meadow Lane Park, where people play both pickleball and tennis regularly,” Henry Dixon (’24) said. “Luckily, people do not play at night, but if they did, it would drive me crazy.”

This year, the Vienna Town Council has met numerous times to discuss and reconfigure the hours of the pickleball courts, restricting more and more each time. Currently, the pickleball hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Town residents must reserve a pickleball court time online, and call in to receive a combination for the lock to get in. The Town of Vienna website also links a spreadsheet highlighting different pickleball paddle models red or green based on how loud they tend to be, recommending residents to use the ones highlighted green. 

“The serial syrup sprayer is kinda real honestly, I’d do the same if my precious sleep was being terrorized by those pickleball prowlers,” Dixon said.