LOCAL

Sarasota man attempts 48 pickleball games in 48 states in 48 days

Sarasota's Dean Matt set out in his plane in a world-record attempt to play 48 games of pickleball in 48 states in 48 days; he fell four states short

Doug Fernandes
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

SARASOTA — In Kalamazoo, Michigan, he swapped hits with a 97-year-old woman.

At the University Park Country Club, the last stop on his top-of-the-bucket-list adventure, his opponent was 93-year-old Vince Golden. He played a teenager in Mobile, Alabama; Special Olympic athletes in Jonesboro, Arkansas; low-income, inner-city kids in Memphis, Tennessee; and even the mayor of Portage, Michigan.

Have pickleball, will travel. Sixty-three-year-old Sarasota resident Dean Matt did just that, flying his Cessna Turbo 206H a total of 8,200 miles in pursuit of perhaps the most bizarre world record one can hold: playing 48 games of pickleball, in 48 states, in 48 days.

The 48-48-48 Pickleball Challenge

Dean Matt, center, with his wife, Luanne Matt, and playing partner Jimmy Santangelo, pose for a photo shortly after arriving at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport for the last stop on his 48-state Pickleball tour.

“The world record is whatever I want it to be,” the former CFO of a cannabis company said, “because no one has done this before. It’s not really about (setting) a world record, it’s about telling 48 stories of where pickleball is played, and who plays it.”

And to tell them, Matt got to combine his love of aviation — he’s been a pilot since high school — with his newfound love of pickleball — he’s been playing for about a year. Several years ago, Matt and his wife watched a documentary on James Lawrence, nicknamed “The Iron Cowboy” for completing 50 Ironman Triathlon races, in 50 states, in 50 days.

“I saw this documentary in Chicago,” he said, “and our jaws dropped. I wanted to go around the country golfing, but I had hip replacement surgery four years ago. I didn’t do it with golf, but I did it with pickleball.” Two years ago, Matt and his wife moved from Naperville, Illinois, to the University Park CC, where the two took up pickleball.

“So,” Matt said, “I said now’s the time to go around the country and do this.” After securing several sponsors, Matt began plotting his trip. “I tried to stay in the interior of the United States as much as possible,” he said. “I tried to keep it tight. I wasn’t going to Seattle or Miami. In the middle.”

Once his route — starting in the southeast, then the southwest, northwest, northeast, and, finally, back down to the southeast — was finalized, Matt began calling the visitors bureaus in the areas in which he intended to play, and also in areas he didn’t have family or friends. Matt told the people at these various bureaus they would have to provide accommodations, a pickleball venue, and ground transportation.

“And they all said yes, not a problem,” Matt said. “ ‘Hey, we want to be a part of this.’ ’’ I may have known 10 family members or friends where I didn’t need to do that. It was like herding cats, but I didn’t have to sell anything because they all wanted to do it.”

Opponents were arranged for him

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Dean Matt, left, and friend Jimmy Santangelo, who flew with Matt and played him in eight states as part of his 48-48-48 Challenge, including Matt's 48th and final stop, the University Park Country Club in

If Matt had family or friends in a particular area, they would arrange an opponent for him. In those areas he didn’t, the visitors bureau took care of it. His first venue, at the Mobile (Ala.) Tennis Center, was followed by Greenwood Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Halls Ferry Park in Jackson, Mississippi; and the Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee.

One of Matt’s prerequisites for each visitors bureau was alerting the local media to his arrival. “We probably had a total of 60 TV stations cover the event,” he said. Matt appeared on Fox News’ Fox & Friends without telling his wife. When she turned on the TV and saw him, she said, “What’s my husband doing on Fox & Friends?”

Matt got to play at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah, Georgia, the largest privately owned club in the country. In Sacramento, he played on a court set up on an airport tarmac. In three consecutive cities, Kansas City, Missouri; Wichita, Kansas; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Matt played at a Chicken N Pickle, a restaurant chain with seven locations around the country, which combines a casual dining experience and sports bar with pickleball courts.

Two different venues on same day

Matt Dean's route for the 48-48-48 Pickleball Challenge
Dean Matt and his wife, Luanne Matt, play a pickleball game at University Park Country Club on the last stop on his 48-state Pickleball tour.

On several occasions, particularly in the New England area, Matt was able to play at two different venues on the same day, putting him ahead of the “48 days” of  his challenge.

But, after Matt had been a perfect 18 stops in 18 days, he was forced to remain two days in Salt Lake City, Utah. The clouds above the mountains there contained ice. “My plane can go over the mountains,” he said, “but on those days, I would have had to go through icing in the clouds. And that’s a no-no.”

As a result of the delay, Matt had to bypass playing in Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. And by the time he reached Portland, Maine, three-quarters through his challenge, “I could see the end and I was just anxious to get home,” he said.

“I’m 63 years old, and I’ve been flying into most of these states anyway. This was a way to combine my love of aviation and my newfound love of pickleball.” Matt said he won 45 percent of his matches, “so I lost more than I won.”

Either way, he realized one additional benefit.

“I could play pickleball and not have to pay for it.”