Pickleball is solidifying itself as a regular muse in the sports romance genre.

From Pickleballers by Ilana Long to All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball by Kate Spencer, authors are writing some swoon-worthy tales with America's fastest-growing sport as a central theme. 

The latest book to enter the mix is Getting Pickled by Allison Rayne, which was recently released on Amazon.

“It’s about a woman named Willow who has that black cat energy. She’s independent, she loves pickleball, and she goes on a really bad Tinder date. After the bad date she swears off dating, and who shows up the next morning at pickleball? The horrible date himself,” shared Rayne. “His name is Luca, and from his perspective, he knows he messed up the bad date and he’s looking to redeem himself, so he volunteers to be Willow’s partner for a tournament coming up. And, of course, romance ensues.”

Rayne had a blast writing this love story.

After all, it was a casual game of pickleball with her husband and friends that sparked the idea.

“My husband is an avid pickleball player and I just like to play for the social part of the game, but I was there on the court one day with some friends and there was just so much chemistry between people,” she explained. “There were couples and husbands and wives together, so it was so clear to see the partnership and natural connections that happen on the pickleball court.”

Some people still insist that pickleball is only for older people and romance couldn’t happen on the court, but Rayne believes otherwise.

“I think because it’s so popular, especially with the younger crowds, and there’s just so much interaction, socializing, and you can immediately gauge if you have good chemistry with your partner. It’s easy to spark that connection,” she emphasized. “Also, anyone can pick up a paddle and learn to play, so it’s great because you don’t need to spend a ton of money to get into the sport. You can just play at the nearest court and join in on the fun. You never know who you’re going to meet out there.”

Getting Pickles is classified as an “open door romance,” which means it features explicit scenes.

But just how spicy is this it?

“It’s definitely pretty spicy,” she confirmed. I’ve read spicier, but when they get together, it gets spicy for sure.” 

Getting Pickleb may not be Rayne’s only pickleball romance novel.

While writing it, she actually thought of a few new ideas for more on-court romances.

“I saw that there’s a pickleball dating app and it really inspired me,” she said. “I think I’m going to be writing a second book in the pickleball romance world.”

Rayne also designed the cover and illustrates the fun graphics on her Instagram page to promote her work. 

“I’m a full-time graphic designer and I have three daughters, so finding the time to write was the biggest challenge,” she concluded. “But I was having so much fun working on this that I was able to find time, and I’m looking forward to working on the next one.”

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