It’s officially spooky season, and there's only one thing on my mind.

The ghosters haunting my favorite pickleball court that I can no longer go to because it’s like a graveyard of failed pickleball partnerships. 

When you’ve been in the game for a while, you start to run into some old (and unfriendly) faces. From bad pickleball blind dates to pickleball partnerships you thought would last forever, sometimes your pickleball past can really come back to haunt you. 

Let me tell you about the most frightening of pickleball ghosts I’ve encountered. 

It was a dark and stormy night…

Kidding. It was actually a beautiful hot summer day and our DUPRs were aligned.

I wore one of my best pickleball date outfits. A fitted pink tank top with white piping detail that is so incredibly flattering, paired with a white pleated tennis skirt and my white Wilson court shoes and ruffle socks. Absolutely darling. 

I thought everything was going well. After we warmed up, our games were the perfect mix of competitive (but not overly competitive) and enjoyable, and we were regularly complimenting each other on good shots. We simply had great court chemistry. 

We left things on great terms, grabbing lunch after the match, and he even made plans to play with me again next week. 

But then I didn’t hear from him. 

And so began the fun game of waiting around. Do I text him first? Do I play it cool? Should I schedule dates with other potential partners? Is that wrong to do? Why hasn’t he reached out? Has he found another partner? Were my drives not strong enough?

My partner had completely disappeared. I finally relented and messaged him, “Hey! Are we still playing on Saturday?”

Only to get nothing. Hours went by, and I felt nauseous with overwhelming dread.

I think I’m being ghosted. 

What a miserable feeling. My women’s doubles partner tried to give me hope, “Give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he’s been busy working on his serves?”

Hours turned into days that turned into weeks, and it was clear I was officially ghosted. 

So I went back to my court and continued my search for a suitable partnership.

For a few months, everything went back to normal. The “Pickleball Ghoster” was a thing of the past.

Then October rolled around – the irony of the season – and the Ghoster returned to my court. 

He was casually playing singles, but instead of waving and walking over to me and my women’s dubs partner like a grown adult, he sent me a text, “Crazy seeing you here.”

Here’s the funny thing about pickleball ghosts. They never really leave you alone. They always come back - usually after they play in a tournament with someone else and they realize how compatible of a partner you were in the first place. Their spirit haunts you every time you hit your third shot drop, and sometimes they show up on a random Tuesday in October to give you a proper jump scare. 

Unfortunately for the Ghoster, I’d found other people to play pickleball with.

I peacefully worked on my twoeys and even played a tournament.

My DUPR went up since I last played with him. 

So, I left the Ghoster on read. Take that! You just got ghosted, too. 

Happy Halloween!

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