Indiana Doubles Tandem All About Pickleball’s Good Vibes

Heidi Kleinrichert and Natasha Nuerge have formed a potent partnership in just two years.

By Stephen Hunt -Red Line Editorial

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas -- Heidi Kleinrichert and Natasha Nuerge have been a pickleball doubles team for about two years and approach the sport with a simple mentality.

“If people take this sport too seriously, then it’s not fun,” said Kleinrichert, a real estate agent from Fort Wayne, Indiana. “We’ve played enough competitive tennis that we decided we’re not going to take this too seriously.”

She and Nuerge, who now works for a pharmaceutical company, are playing doubles this week at the 2023 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships powered by Invited and the PPA Tour at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas, a northern Dallas suburb.

The talented tandem, who both attended the University of Indiana but whose paths never crossed in Bloomington, first met on a tennis court, and over the past few years they’ve developed a solid pickleball partnership that balances their competitive edge with fun.

“Every time we’re on the court, we want to win,” said Nuerge, an All-Big Ten Conference performer for the Hoosiers in tennis in 1996. “We go with that intention, but if it doesn’t happen, maybe we’re mad for a couple hours, and then we’re over it.”

Great friends on and off the court, their synergy is apparent whenever they hit the court for a match, whether it’s at tournaments or the three times weekly they play pickleball back in the Hoosier State.

“Well, she’s a lefty, I’m a righty. So, it’s kind of nice that we complement each other on court so our forehands get to be in the middle,” Kleinrichert said. “We’re also very good friends. On the court, you have to be able to be talk and communicate in a way where you don’t get mad at each other.

“Sometimes if you play with a partner that’s too sensitive and you start passing strongly, they can get upset with you and it can hurt a friendship. We have a camaraderie. We walk off the court and we’re friends. We never really get upset at one another. We get upset at ourselves, but we strategize well.”

Nuerge gives her doubles partner a lot of credit for being “the strategy girl” of the tandem.

Kleinrichert, however, gives Nuerge an equal amount of credit for making her a better pickler every time they play together.

“She executes so well. She was a DI tennis player in college, so she’s a really good player,” Kleinrichert said. “I enjoy her skill, and I learn a lot from her.”

Nuerge is one of many former tennis players who have successfully made the switch to pickleball, a move that has gone well for her because so many of the skills she learned in tennis translate over to the smaller dimensions of pickleball.

“First of all, eye-hand coordination, having quick hands and just learning about the angles (all translate). In tennis, it’s all about geometry and the right angles,” Nuerge said. “Pickleball is no different. It’s a shorter court, so quick hands really help you. It’s an easy transition from tennis for sure. You’re seeing a lot of pro tennis players make the transition into pickleball.”

And like many of her fellow picklers with a strong tennis background, she quickly became hooked on pickleball as her new chosen sport.

“There is so much to love about this game. I think it’s very social. It’s very competitive,” Nuerge said. “It’s easy to learn, so you can quickly get decent. Then, after you reach 4.0, 4.5, then you plateau. I think a lot of people can get in and get decent pretty quick, and then you can compete. But the biggest thing about this game is everybody’s nice and it’s social.”

The strong social aspect that pickleball is known for has led to her and Kleinrichert being part of a large group of players back in Indiana, many of whom traveled to Texas for nationals and are staying together in an Airbnb in the Dallas area.

“It is a really cool setup (here at nationals). I went to nationals a couple of years ago in California at Indian Wells,” Kleinrichert said. “They had a neat setup, and it’s a neat venue and obviously a great event. It’s amazing with all of these courts and all these people. And you have the bands, the stage and all of the different vendors.”

This is the first trip to the Dallas area for both, and Nuerge admits attending nationals in this new setting has been a nice destination for them.

“(We play in) maybe four or five tournaments a year” Nuerge said. “We usually try to make an event out of it, so we’ll go to Naples for a girls’ weekend, etc. It’s not all about pickleball. Pickleball is central, but there’s a lot of other things that we do.”

Stephen Hunt is an accomplished freelance writer and sports statistician who has been blessed to cover a multitude of subjects and sports in his time. He is a freelance contributor to USA Pickleball on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.