Whitney Houston foundation celebrates legacy with pickleball in Alpharetta

An inaugural pickleball tournament in memory of Whitney Houston will be held in June in metro Atlanta. In homage to the late songstress, who also was an avid tennis player, the tournament will celebrate the legacy of Houston while uplifting her other endeavors outside of music.

Hosted by the Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation and Primary Wave Music, the annual Whitney E. Houston Pickleball Tournament will be held June 6 at the Atlanta National Pickleball Club in Alpharetta.

Celebrity guests are expected to attend, along with professional pickleball players.

“Whitney was an athlete at heart,” said Pat Houston, current executor of the Estate of Whitney E. Houston and president of the Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation. “She loved tennis and swimming. We spent a great deal of time on the courts.”

Houston’s family was full of athletes, including her brother Gary, who played for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.

Houston played tennis in New Jersey, and she continued the pastime after relocating to Alpharetta.

Pat, who was Houston’s sister-in-law and former manager, said Houston would have enjoyed the trendy sport of pickleball.

“She was always up for a new challenge,” she said. “She would have loved pickleball and would have played as my partner.”

Apart from the tournament, the Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation also will host a gala in August and a holiday-themed event in December. Both will be held in metro Atlanta.

“Hosting a pickleball tournament in Whitney’s honor is more than organizing games on a court. It’s turning the thing she loved most into a living memory that people can step into,” Pat told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “She loved family sports and this event is her spirit in motion.

“Everyone knows how to show up for a game. Playing becomes their way of saying, ‘I remember her. That’s legacy!’”

Tickets are now on sale for the Whitney E. Houston Pickleball Tournament.