Six new pickleball courts are coming to Albemarle Field in Newtonville as part of a $6.3 million renovation of the park.
The courts replace existing tennis courts at the Albemarle Road complex, according to city Community Preservation Committee records. Parks and Open Space Director Luis Perez Demorizi told the committee in June 2022 that the plan called for removing the tennis courts to add six pickleball courts and relocating some tennis courts to an existing pickleball area. Parks and Recreation Commissioner Nicole Banks confirmed the conversion at a February 2023 meeting.
The city has not announced an opening date. Construction at Albemarle was still underway as of the committee's May 2026 meeting.
Newton residents also play pickleball at the McGrath Courts in West Newton and at the Cooper Center for Active Living, according to the Newton Beacon, which reported on the sport's local growth Wednesday, Oct. 7. City recreation data show 129 people enrolled in instructional pickleball programs during summer 2025, split between a general session with 81 participants and a program at Auburndale Cove with 48.
The Albemarle project is part of a broader Athletic Fields Improvements Plan covering Albemarle Park, McGrath Park and Burr School Fields. The full plan received $9.2 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding, approved unanimously by the committee in April 2023.
Injury risk grows with the sport
Pickleball-related emergency room visits nationwide nearly quadrupled, climbing from about 8,300 in 2018 to more than 31,000 in 2025, according to a ValuePenguin analysis of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data cited by NKC Health. Falls, slips and trips account for 43% of those ER visits. Adults 50 and older make up 83% of fall-related visits and logged an estimated 125,000 pickleball ER trips between 2018 and 2025.
Rob Skinner, a Newton fitness coach, wrote in his Beacon column that players can reduce their risk with intentional warm-ups, off-court endurance training and exercises that toughen connective tissue and improve balance.
Ami Gordon, a certified instructor with Newton Community Education (NCE), said the sport's social pull is real but cautioned players about overestimating their readiness.
"People show up thinking they can dominate the court, but the game requires more coordination and stamina than you expect," Gordon said.
Ellen Rothman, a Watertown resident, had to stop playing after falling on the court.
What's next
NCE has two Pickleball Tournament Kickoff sessions scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School: 6–7:30 p.m. and 8–9:30 p.m. Each costs $35.
