It surprises me that it took us so long to visit CDMX, the enormous capital city of Mexico. Distrito Federal (D.F.) as it was formerly known, changed names officially to the four letter acronym in 2016 and became a city as opposed to a federal district. There is so much to see and do in this town that has more layers than an onion. The history of the place from the Aztecs to the Spaniards to the present day is incredibly fascinating. The city has more museums than any city on Earth, with the exception of London.
Finding out about the pickleball scene here took some serious sleuthing. Facebook and internet searches just showed a smattering of options. Then the contacts we made started turning in to WhatsApp and Messenger messages which began to unveil the local groups. Below is a helpful guide to keep you from having to go through the search on your own. Times and dates are still very much fluctuating, so check with the contacts if you don’t want to be disappointed. They are the movers and shakers of the CDMX pickleball world.
Due to the scarcity of open spaces, pickleball groups are being very creative with their locations. They are carving out space where they can. Two locations are in parks, one is inside a shopping mall, and another is inside a restaurant. All the contacts and details are towards the end of the post.
Funny story! We were just getting set up to play when I heard a man call my name, “Bonnie???” with a question mark in a man’s voice. It was bound to happen! Randy Silvey and I started a Facebook Messenger conversation just over two years ago. He had a question about a post I wrote about Loreto in Mexico. We talked over time about other places he and his wife Jill had played. There were several times that we could have and should have crossed paths, but CDMX was the place where it finally happened.
When you find your peeps, you instantly know it! Jill and Randy are so much fun. I mean SO MUCH FUN! We hung out with them for two weeks, laughed our heads off, and did so many cool things together. And get this out of a city of 22 million people, we were staying literally two blocks away from each other. It was a very sad parting when we said “Adios.” I have no doubt that we’ll be meeting up with them again in the future! That’s what pickleball does.
Altogether we played in four locations with five different groups. The growth in pickleball in CDMX is poised to be explosive, and we can’t wait to go back to see it!
Places we played and contact information for great pickleball ambassadors:
Juan Pablo Huerta Eraso, known as JP is from Bogotá, Colombia. He co-runs a group in CDMX and his Instagram is called Pickleball Pro Colombia. JP was a great help, and the first person we met for pickleball in CDMX. He pops back and forth between Bogotá, and CDMX, and we were fortunate to meet him. He’s an amazing friendly ambassador. You can find him on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/pickleballprocolombia/
1) Pentathlon Park (PARQUE PENTATHLON, C. U. Benito Juárez, Roma Sur, Cuauhtémoc, 06760 Ciudad de México, CDMX Roma Norte from Colombia. This is a park that is multi-use, so it is fun to see people playing basketball and soccer. Most mornings from 9 am - noon there will be one of two groups playing pickleball here.
2) Our second location to play was a very unique experience. The venue is in the main open area of a mostly closed shopping mall. There are a few issues with overhangs near the baselines and the lighting might not be what you’re used to, but its a good group of people and the owner can help to make sure you get the level of games that you want.
Info and contact through Instagram: Eugenio Riego https://www.instagram.com/pickleball_santafe/
Available 24/7 by reservation and Open Play Tues, Thur 6-10 pm - Santa Fe - Plaza Reforma. Carr. México-Toluca 1725, Lomas de, Granjas Palo Alto, Cuajimalpa de Morelos, 05110 Ciudad de México, CDMX, México.
3) Not to sound too biased, but one of my favorite groups was at the Pentathlon Park, led by a woman named Reed Donahue on Friday mornings at 9:30 am. Reed was recently hired by Serve in the City to help set up the nets and organize games. I had so much fun with this awesome group of friendly ladies who meet to play pickleball, and they have a great time doing it. They follow up playing with breakfast at a local bakery. They are so eager to learn, and Reed makes everyone feel completely welcome. Hopefully their schedule will expand to accommodate more women. She can be contacted at https://www.instagram.com/serve_in_thecity/ or directly at emailreedd@gmail.com
4) Ewaud van Vliet and his wife Rose were among some of the first to bring pickleball to CDMX. They are from the Netherlands but they learned to play at a resort in Mexico and fell in love with pickleball. They have a group called “Serve in the City”. They started playing in one of the city’s main parks and quickly grew the sport with new converts. https://www.instagram.com/serve_in_thecity/ People of all levels can join by just sending them a DM. They post their weekly schedule as well as lots of fun social events on Instagram. It’s a great way to connect with others.
5) Chris Alaniz is passionately growing pickleball in CDMX. He and JP work together at a couple of locations where people are gathering and learning to play. Chris is on the hunt for bigger and better suited locations for more courts. He uses the Calendly website to get people signed up so that they are not overcrowded. If you want to know the weekly schedule, take. a look at https://www.instagram.com/pickleballplayersparadise/ . You can contact Chris there with question and he can be contacted on WhatsApp +1 510 684 9772 or by email at Chris.alaniz.21@gmail.com
Chris sets up play nearly every day of the week somewhere. You can usually find him coordinating and playing with two temporary nets at Ramón López Velarde Garden in Roma Norte. It is in a park right across the street from where Serve in the City plays at Pentathlon.
Chris is also the organizer at another unique venue one night a week. On Monday nights at 7:30 - 10pm in a restaurant called Pinche Gringo Barbeque Warehouse. It is a raucous good time, with lots of young people in an unlikely space that has some logistical issues like space constraints and lighting (there's a cool, huge, modern chandelier). That doesn’t stop anyone from having a great time. The bar is open, there is cornhole and ping pong and other bar games to play when you’re waiting your turn to play. This is really a young persons scene, but everyone was welcoming and great to us "senior" players.
When you are looking for places to stay, there are great Airbnbs all over town. I was given good advice that the best areas to stay are in Roma, La Condesa and Polanco. I wholeheartedly pass on that advice to you. We explored all over town and stayed in two places for one week each in the Roma area, north and south. Both were great, and they are central locations making it easy to explore the city, find great restaurants, and easily make it to the current pickleball play.
One of the events that we did on a non-pickleball day (yes, we all need them) was a four hour bicycle tour around the city. It is an ideal way to see all of the main sites. We found our tour guide on an Airbnb Experience list. I highly recommend this event, especially on a Sunday. The city shuts down some of the main streets and they become full of cyclists and pedestrians. Alberto was our very fun and knowledgeable tour guide. His Experience is called “Sights on Bikes-The 20+ Must-See Sights on CDMX BIKE TOUR”.
If you go, please tell the pickleball players you meet that Bonnie and Ky said hello.
Stay tuned for a report from our next stop - Maui, Hawaii!
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