A black and white flag with the words “Come and Take It,” a picture of a cannon with a single star, is an icon of Texas history. Though it has become a modern symbol of the right to bear arms, the actual origin has nothing to do with the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Instead, that flag comes from the Battle of Gonzales during the Texas Revolution. (Stick with me on this one, actual tennis content is coming.)
In 1835, amidst a civil war in Mexico and the Texas independence movement, Mexican authorities demanded the return of a small cannon that had been loaned to settlers in Gonzales, Texas. In response, the settlers created the “Come and Take It” flag to symbolize their defiance. A battle ensued when the Mexican troops attempted to seize the cannon, and the Texans successfully repelled the Mexican forces.
The “Come and Take It” flag has since become an enduring symbol of defiance and resistance within the state. Last weekend at the USTA Texas annual conference, the following image popped into my head as the First Vice President of USTA National teased that the organization has developed a more proactive stance toward defending tennis courts from conversion to pickleball.
Unfortunately, the collective pickleball community will likely see that flag as an open invitation rather than a thinly veiled challenge. (Editorial note: I am not advocating violence. Play nice with the other children, ya’ll.)
There was already a shortage of tennis courts long before pickleball started encroaching upon the tennis capital infrastructure. What I heard for the first time from USTA National last weekend is that the organization is finally ready to take the fight to pickleball. As that sport uses our real estate to play their game, we will use their real estate to promote our game.
The USTA is considering creative and radical new tactics to bridge the gap from pickleball to tennis. One of the ideas I heard last weekend was teaching beginning tennis lessons on pickleball courts using red dot balls. It is very similar to something I proposed in “Bridging Pickleball and Tennis” with the exception of using the pickleball side of the fence rather than tennis courts. I like the USTA’s idea even better as I strongly suspect that the pickleball community will be very irritated to see tennis played in what they now regard as their space.
The dark days of the tennis industry standing aside while pickleball demolishes tennis courts may be coming to a close. It’s about time.
Sone people in the USTA have been pushing against pball for years, but it had fallem on deaf ears. It’s taken us far too long to snap to it that their sport isn’t a good community partner if they’re going to take our infrastructure.
We’ve recommended touchtennis for a decade-plus here in the Southwest. It’s quiet and a better segue to tennis than pball, it uses junior racquets and supports our own industry…not another.
I’d recommend we run junior and adult short court events for beginners (and mark our lines) on their courts as well.