NEWS FROM THE COURTS

Written By Erin Tufts Cartier

What a weekend! From young pickleball players celebrating the end of summer to teens and adults battling the Texas heat on the tennis courts, The Big Dill and Diablo Doubles brought together familiar faces, new friends and plenty of spirited competition.

Thank you to every player, spectator, volunteer and local business that helped make these events possible. Weekends like this reflect the vision behind the Fredericksburg Racquet Center: promoting healthy living, community engagement and youth development through the lifelong sports of tennis and pickleball. 

The Big Dill

A Pickleball Send-Off for the Class of 2026

Boot Ranch was the perfect setting for the inaugural Big Dill Pickleball Tournament, a joyful community event created for our local youth. It gave pickleball players a positive and healthy way to connect while celebrating the Class of 2026 as they head toward their next adventures.

Racquet sports welcome players across generations, making tennis and pickleball true lifelong sports. By engaging young people now, we are helping them build confidence, friendships and habits that can serve them well for years to come. We loved watching this new tradition begin and cannot wait to see how The Big Dill grows.

A very special thank-you to Boot Ranch, Cranky Pickle, Emi’s on Austin, BurgerBurger , NextOnCourt, and everyone who supported the tournament. Please continue supporting the local businesses that show up for our young people and invest in community projects like the Fredericksburg Racquet Center.

Congratulations to

1. Yair Hernandez & Santi Villa

2. Gus Wegner & Natalie Simmons

3. Will Bryla & Grayson Crenwelge

—you’re officially a Big Dill!

Check out photos from the big dill!

Diablo Doubles Brings the Heat 🌶️

Saturday proved to be a scorcher, but thankfully Diablo Doubles got underway bright and early. The tournament brought together a fun mix of teens and adults, with plenty of familiar faces and new players joining the Fredericksburg Racquet Center community.

The competition was spirited, the sidelines were lively and a great time was had by players and spectators alike. Our first Diablo Doubles was an absolute smash, and we are already excited to keep building this event.

Congratulations to

1. Caroline Carnett & Chandler Carnett

2. Holly Perry & Rick Perry

3. Drew Crocker & Denise Krupa

for bringing the heat and claiming the inaugural Diablo Doubles title!

We are also incredibly grateful to Gastehaus Schmidt, Emi’s on Austin, Formando Vineyards, NextOnCourt, and Coach Randall King for helping make the tournament possible. When local businesses support community recreation, youth programming and healthy living, everyone wins. Please show them some love so they can continue giving back to projects that strengthen Fredericksburg.

Check out more photos from Diablo Doubles!

Coming Soon: Pave the Path to Play

A new opportunity to leave your mark on the Fredericksburg Racquet Center is coming soon!

Through our upcoming Pave the Path to Play campaign, individuals, families and businesses will be able to purchase an engraved paver for the future racquet center. It will be a meaningful way to honor someone special, celebrate your family or visibly demonstrate your business’s support for this lasting community project.

Each paver will become part of the path leading toward more play, connection and opportunity in Fredericksburg. More details will be announced soon.

Become a Fredericksburg Racquet Center Founding Member

The energy surrounding The Big Dill and Diablo Doubles offered a glimpse of what is possible when our community has more opportunities to gather around racquet sports. The future Fredericksburg Racquet Center is being created as a welcoming, public-access facility with programming for players of different ages and skill levels throughout the Texas Hill Country. 

You can help move that vision forward by becoming a Founding Member. Gifts of $1,000 or more receive permanent recognition on the Founding Members plaque at the future racquet center—honoring the people and businesses who helped turn this community dream into a reality. 

Your support helps create more than courts. It creates a place where children can discover a new sport, adults can stay active and neighbors can form meaningful connections for generations to come.

Let’s Rally. For our community. For our kids. For our future.

BECOME A FOUNDING MEMBER
Erin Tufts Cartier

Erin Tufts Cartier is the artist behind Rorin and creative director of ETC Creative Studio. Originally from New Orleans Louisiana, and a graduate of Louisiana State University’s Textile, Apparel and Merchandising program, Erin envisioned Rorin to foster her passion for designing unique accessories and art rooted in responsible processes. Her creative vision has long been interwoven with a desire to integrate a resourceful approach in how she discovers and repurposes unique materials. In a strive to do more for small businesses, Erin founded ETC Creative studio in 2023 after 4 years freelancing her creative direction, branding and web design skills. ETC is a creative studio led by passion for intentional design and heartfelt visual storytelling with the innate desire to do more for small brands.

https://erintuftscartier.com/etc
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THANKS FOR AN AMAZING WIMBLEDON BRUNCH!