ORANGE PARK — The latest trend in social fitness, according to a pickleball CEO, is now located in Orange Park and, on May 31 at its grand opening, players and fans were brimming with excitement talking about the facility, the management and camaraderie of the sport.

"The best part about this place (The HUB Pickleball Jacksonville) is right there, look up," said 4.5-rated player Kyle Brown, also a Middleburg High math teacher and cross-country coach. "The covering on this place and the cool fans all around make the game even more fun because we are not baking in the sun like we were wherever else we play. Genius to the guy who built this."
Pro players are rated above 5.0. Brown and partner Zane Barnett, a 10-year tennis player, were rated 4.5s.

That "guy" is named Ted Angelo, and he literally moved his life from three HUBs in California to open one in Florida and found the Orange Park Country Club people interested.
"I'm from southern California, run three clubs out there, and they (OPCC) put an ad out looking for someone who could run a pickleball club," said Angelo, who started with a partner in San Diego and has clubs in Silicon Valley and Alameda. "I asked them to contact me. I moved to Orange Park and here we are."
Angelo said his company did some target research and found that the north Florida area has a bunch of smaller pickleball facility, but nothing big.
"We saw the demographics were small, and we just thought to build the biggest one in north Florida," said Angelo. "There are some big ones in the Fort Lauderdale area and south Florida."
Ironically, Naples is considered the pickleball capital of the world with a facility comprising 60 permanent courts.


In Orange Park, the HUB has 16 covered courts under a hanger-like enclosure with eight outdoor courts squeezed in adjacent to the main building which includes a pro shot with equipment. Angelo also noted he has Bocci Ball courts, seven Cornhole courts, a HUB PUB and a Ping Pong area.
"The main draw to the sport is the social aspect, but there are some very talented athletes from a variety of sports that make up the pickleball players; baseball, tennis, with soccer players some of the best pickleball players with their speed and ball skills," said Angelo, himself a talented player. "Pickleball is challenging, fast and a game may take 15-20 minutes, then you move on to another court."
According to Pickleball Magazine, the earnings of the top athletes in America start with Ben Jones, who earned upward of $1 million a year with tournament earnings and sponsorships, with an average pro player capable of $260,000 per year.
"That's better than the WNBA and pro soccer athletes," said Angelo. "The tournaments have big purses because the interest is so high right now."


For the women, a 17-year-old recent Jensen Beach high school grad, Anna Leigh Waters, has scorched the competition as an ex-soccer and tennis player in high school with $750,000 earnings from last year. Waters had her pro tournament enhanced with former tennis champion Andre Agassi partnering with her for a U.S. Open championship in Naples.
Pickleball leagues have also flourished nationwide with the two primary pro leagues merging in 2024 with a $75 million investment to enhance the success of the sport.
"Anna Leigh is the top player in the world and will be making $3 million a year with her sponsorships," said Angelo. "There is an All Florida Pro League, there's a nationwide pro league; Major League Pickleball and Professional Pickleball Association, and it's getting pretty serious. The All Florida Pro League is playing to get to the national level."
Major League Pickleball has a national schedule that includes venues in Orlando; Columbus, OH; Austin, TX; Washington, D.C.; and St. Petersburg (Jul 31-Aug. 3) with playoffs in August in San Diego and New York City. The All-Florida Pro League's schedule with The HUB Jacksonville last weekend continues to Lakeland (Lone Palm Country Club), Bradenton (GT Bray Park), St. Petersburg and Fort Lauderdale for the league championship Oct. 4-5.
Names for the All-Florida Pro League, which has a $15,000 prize pool, include the Fort Myers Flamingos (defending league champions), the Lakeland Palms, Sarasota Manatees, Jacksonville Suns, Miami Blaze, O-Town Bangers, St. Pete Iceburgs and GNV Swamp in Gainesville.


At the Orange Park HUB, a $5,000 purse was available for the money tournament staged on May 30, with medals to winners in Saturday's event.
According to Charlott Nagai, the HUB Jacksonville Club Manager, there will be a series of local tournaments upcoming with members able to play on the courts and non-members playing for $20 for the day.
"The residents here were extremely ecstatic because the golf club has been dormant for such a long time," said Nagai, noting a live broadcast on the All-Florida Pro League matches with teams from Lakeland, Tampa, Jacksonville's Ballers. "We have a lot of leagues set up but with the grand opening (May 31), we haven't put that info out yet, but we have plans."