USA Pickleball Sits Down with ABC’s The Golden Bachelor: Gerry Turner

Prior to the premiere of the Golden Bachelor, USA Pickleball sat down with the Golden Bachelor himself, Gerry Turner, an avid pickleball player and member of the pickleball community! Read our exclusive interview with Gerry below and tune in to watch his journey to find love! The Golden Bachelor premieres Thursday, September 28, at 8/7c on ABC and Stream on Hulu. 

Tell us a little bit about how you first got into the sport of pickleball. When did you begin playing and how did you fall in love with pickleball? 

Gerry: I spent a lot of years back in Iowa trying to find a good location to learn how to play pickleball. It seemed elusive – the sport was still in its infancy, and I couldn't quite catch up. When I moved to Indiana about three years ago, I saw an article in a local newspaper about playing at a particular facility and instantly started learning more about what pickleball was. In playing pickleball, I was looking for a way to release and tap into some of my competitive energy. The other part of it, of course, is that I found the social side of the game to be so satisfying. The best friends I have right now are my pickleball friends and playing the game has just gotten better and better over the years. 

In general, how often do you get onto the pickleball courts per week? 

Gerry: I normally will play at least three times a week. I'll play Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and we'll play for about three hours - from 9 am to noon.  In the winter, we add a fourth day on Saturday because some of the better players who are a bit farther away come to our facility and then we get a bigger challenge!

What do you enjoy most about being a member of the pickleball community? 

Gerry: I think there's a commonality across pickleball communities where it doesn't matter whether you are in Indiana, Los Angeles, or Florida. The spirit of the competition stays the same, but it's also not a cutthroat environment. People are inclusive with players who aren't quite as good and that's something that I've seen from coast to coast which I think is really nice.

Do you participate in tournaments or are you a more recreational player? If you've played in tournaments, what is your current player rating and preferred event? 

Gerry: I have a favorite partner who I refer to as my pickleball wife. We started playing the game together and weren't instantly drawn to one another, but over a period of time, we found that our games were very compatible. We’ve played a number of tournaments, but the mixed doubles tournaments are my favorite because I get to play with her and she's a good coach. We’ve done pretty well in some of the tournaments and we're probably 3.0 players. I don’t know if we'll ever be better than 3.0.

One of the things we love most about pickleball is the inclusive nature of the sport for all ages/backgrounds - do you play with your daughters, granddaughters, or other family members? 

Gerry: I've played with my daughters, granddaughters, and my sons-in-law. We were recently on a trip in the Indianapolis area and they wanted to know about the sport, so we found a couple of open courts and I got them all playing all at once. It was like herding cats for a while, but eventually they figured out the game and enjoyed it. I think our entire family is competitive in that way, so they were drawn to it for that reason.

Would a great pickleball partner be one of the qualities you might look for in an ideal partner? 

Gerry: Indeed, it would. The ability to read each other's body language, strengths, and weaknesses applies to pickleball, but it also applies to real life relationships. So, when you can read your partner and know that something isn't quite right or that things are going well and clicking for your partner, that's a real plus for both the game and also life.

As we get closer to the premiere of The Golden Bachelor this September, what is one thing you'd love to convey to the larger pickleball community about your journey to find love? 

Gerry: I would say to use the setting of pickleball to form good friendships. Sometimes those friendships will lead to a more important, and deeper, relationship. If you're looking for that, pickleball is a great way to get there.