Tim Keightley has been appointed CEO of Center Court Pickleball Club, a premier indoor pickleball brand with one location and two more in development in Arizona. The clubs are designed to merge the love for an athletic lifestyle with unique amenities — such as recovery spaces and a beer and wine self-pour wall — ultimately creating a top-tier pickleball experience.
Keightley is an experienced executive with former tenures at Fitness First UK, Town Sports International and Gold’s Gym International. He’s also a former professional golfer and personal trainer to a heavyweight champion of the world. He will help lead Center Court Pickleball as it expands throughout Arizona and into other markets.
Here, Keightley shares insight into his new role, what makes Center Court Pickleball unique and plans for the future.
Tell me a little bit about what led you to Center Court Pickleball and what you’re most excited about for this new opportunity.
I’m at that beautiful age in life now where I really want to enjoy exercise rather than endure it. For me, exercise is more about enjoyment because it’s more health-related than fitness-related. Pickleball fulfills that.
I grew up in the health and fitness business. I taught my first class in 1983 in the Jane Fonda era, and I grew throughout the industry. I was a part of building the biggest personal training business in Europe, and we based it on one factor: entertainment. People struggle to this day to go to the gym and maintain a workout routine, but they don’t struggle with pickleball.
There’s a poem I used to reference that says, “We occupy their mind by entertaining their time, we drive them to extremes to achieve their dreams.” Through Center Court, you can watch anybody walk into one of our centers to play pickleball, and you can see that poem personified. There’s a smile on their face going in, and there’s a glow on them coming out. It’s fantastic.
What makes Center Court stand out as a brand?
What really drew me was the mission of our founder, Tarl Robinson. He’s as passionate about this industry as anyone. When you meet somebody who’s like-minded — not just in their drive, but their passion — you’re drawn to them.
Also, there’s approximately five to six million people playing pickleball today, and they expect 30 million in five to six years. It’s the fastest-growing sport in the world. Going back to when I started in health and fitness, it was the fastest growing business in the world back then, so there’s a lot of similarities, hopefully, with a lot of lessons learned.
Going back to the mission, ours is very simple: inspire communities to play pickleball for life. I love the simplicity of it. If you’re going to play pickleball for life, you don’t just want to play and then leave. You have to be in a community, and Center Court speaks to that. We truly know your name when you come in.
With the facilities themselves, we’ve got everything from a members’ lounge to high-quality coaching. We have social amenities. We’ve got a relax and recover zone. In our next location, we’re building a turf and workout area so we can really help somebody be prepared to go play the sport and get fit. On top of that, the atmosphere and experience are phenomenal.
Would you say the philosophy is about treating the pickleball player holistically?
Yes, it’s all about healthy body, mind, spirit and soul. We’re all healthier when we’re in a community, versus on our own.
You have one location open. What has been the response from the community so far?
The response for us has been tremendous. We believe we’re the leading experience when it comes to play, and that’s our goal. We have two more locations opening. We’re learning from the first one, we’re going to learn during the second one and into the third one, and we’ll continue to be students of what we learn.
When it comes to business philosophy, I believe in three wins. So it’s not the win-win, it’s the win-win-win. This looks like:
- What can we do that guarantees a win for our customer and member? One great way of doing that is to speak to them, listen and get their feedback.
- What can we do for the team that looks customers in the eye and serves them every day?
- What can we do for the stakeholder, the company, so we can continue to grow and go to other communities and deliver the same life-changing service?
In terms of growth, will new locations all be corporate-owned, or will you be franchising down the road?
We don’t know that right now. We’re in the early stages. Here’s what I will say: whatever it takes to maintain the service and experience we offer, we will do it. We’ll have three locations open within the next three months. We’ll certainly look to grow in our home market. We want this to be the community we truly serve, so that we then earn the right to go and serve other communities. How do we that? We’re in the very infancy of discussing that. We’re open to many ideas, but the one thing we won’t let happen is let our standards drop, whichever route we go.
Center Court has a Crew Membership, allowing players to link their membership with family and friends at a discounted rate. What was the thought process behind that?
Pickleball, unlike a sport like golf, you can’t play on your own. Pickleball requires a crew. So the idea of what we do is, if you and I play together and we have friends that play together, then why not maintain that community and have us all join on a similar membership? The Crew Membership also offers financial perks, but more importantly, we’re all joining and playing together. That’s why we focused on that.
Is there anything else that you want to share about Center Court or your new role as CEO?
The team and the people I’ve met are extraordinary. We have every experience and level, and we’re catering and offering a brilliant service. For me personally, one of my ambitions in life can be summed up as, “We were all better for our time together,” and that is my ambition. A rank or title is irrelevant. When we walk into a Center Court, a customer or member doesn’t care what our rank or title is. They just want to know if we can help them. That’s my attitude and philosophy to all of this.
With over a decade spent covering the business side of sports and fitness, Rachel Chonko brings a wealth of experience and a true passion for active communities to Peake Media. As Editor-in-Chief, she’s focused on helping pickleball clubs and fitness facilities thrive, from guiding growth strategies to showcasing the latest industry trends. Rachel also hosts the Club Solutions Magazine Podcast, where she interviews leaders in fitness and pickleball to share insights and success stories with the wider community to give her listeners a competitive edge.
After taking up pickleball herself, Rachel has come to appreciate the sport’s unique blend of social connection and active living — a mix that’s perfectly in line with her editorial philosophy. Connect with her on LinkedIn, or check out her articles below for a deep dive into the energy and culture driving pickleball’s rapid rise.
