SF’s millionaire anti-pickleball crusader has her own private court

A new online petition is asking San Francisco to shut down a nuisance in the city’s Presidio Heights neighborhood. That nuisance? Pickleball courts. 

The petition, signed by residents Holly Peterson and Mary Tesluk, is chock-full of claims that seem designed to generate sympathy. The authors say the sounds emanating from the courts are “grating,” and claim that the “endless racket” threatens native ecosystems. They also say that the “flood of pickleball fanatics” are depressing neighborhood home values with their “unyielding noise,” and are creating a safety hazard by clogging up a nearby Slow Street with their vehicles. 

The petition appeared online last week and has so far gathered 94 signatures. But earlier this week, internet sleuths in a pickleball forum on Reddit dug up a Wall Street Journal article from May that describes the 106-year-old Presidio mansion that Peterson shares with her husband. Turns out the home has a pickleball court in the backyard. Reddit users were quick to jump on the newfound information.

“She has a pickleball court? Lol that can’t be good for her petition,” one person wrote. 

A call and a text sent to Peterson from SFGATE went unreturned in time for publication, but a real estate agent who has reportedly shown the house to potential buyers told the San Francisco Chronicle that Peterson and her husband do not play pickleball, but “admired and appreciated” their court. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)

The Wall Street Journal article says Peterson and her husband — Karl Peterson, a venture capitalist and co-founder of the discount travel website Hotwire.com — purchased the home, which encompasses more than 11,000 square feet, for $16.7 million in 2007. A listing for the home on the real estate site Compass says the mansion is currently on the market for $36 million. 

The Wall Street Journal article says the Tudor-style home was built in 1917 and designed by famous architect Julia Morgan, who designed hundreds of buildings in California during the early 20th century, including Hearst Castle near San Simeon. Photos on the Compass listing show the pickleball court just outside of a room replete with couches and side tables, which also has at least three golden disco balls hanging from the ceiling. The court appears fenced in and is hidden by rows of neatly groomed and symmetrical trees.  

The goal of Peterson’s petition is to have the city forbid the sport on the playground’s courts until officials can conduct a “rigorous” review of the environmental impact of the courts. Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Phil Ginsburg — the general manager of the city’s Recreation and Park Department — didn’t seem concerned about Peterson’s petition.

“Not everyone can afford a pickleball court in their backyard,” he told the outlet. “That’s why it’s nice to have them in public parks.”