Capitol Hill · Washington, DC

Robert M. Krughoff Pickleball Center

Five free courts built with donations from the pickleball community, Consumers' Checkbook and the Doug and Mei Smith Fund, plus a grant from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation – managed by the Capitol Riverfront Parks Foundation.

Open play, daily

9–12 & 5–8

Location

100 block of Virginia Ave SE

See open play hours Get directions

Heads up: the courts fill to capacity most evenings. Check TeamReach before you head over.

Doubles players on the blue and green courts, with more courts and the freeway overpass beyond

Open play hours

Come as you are

9:00–12:00

Morning session

5:00–8:00

Evening session

Chairs and balls are provided, and a paddle-stacking system keeps games fair – there are no challenge courts and no cutting the line. New to the courts? Just add your paddle to the stack; an Ambassador will help you find your spot.

Court reservations and permitted programming hours are coming in 2027. Details are still being worked out – check back here for updates.

Coordinate on TeamReach

Players organize through the TeamReach app under group code GPPB. It’s where the open-play calendar and live player-count updates live – check it before you head over.

Get the TeamReach app

@krughoffpickleball on Instagram

Evening open play, with players on every court and more waiting along the path under the trees — Courts fill to capacity most evenings

About the Center

From an abandoned roadway to five courts

July 2018

A group of mostly Capitol Hill seniors began playing pickleball on an abandoned, dead-end roadway south of Garfield Park. Robert Krughoff and Margaret Crenshaw led the effort. Volunteers hauled away debris, patched the cracked asphalt and painted the court lines themselves.

A volunteer painting the first court lines on the old roadway under the freeway

About a dozen of the original Garfield Park players with their paddles, under the freeway — The original Garfield Players

The empty, cracked roadway under the freeway, with faded lines, before it became courts — The roadway, before

The permit and rebuild

In 2023, a stakeholder group formed – the Navy Yard BID, pickleball players, Councilmember Allen's staff, ANC members, Capitol Hill Village and Friends and Neighbors of Garfield Park – and spent three years securing a DC public space permit. Combined with the Garfield Connector Project, this made way for five state-of-the-art courts with semi-permanent nets, built and maintained through private donations.

Volunteers carrying a long net box along the sidewalk to the new courts

Three volunteers smiling as they assemble a net on the new courts — Assembling the new nets

Ten volunteers posing on a red court beside a newly installed net — Net Installation Day

About two dozen founders, players and volunteers gathered at the courts on opening day — Founders Opening Day

Maya Ben-David, Ann Goodwin, Eileen Dougherty and Steve Valliant on the new courts

Opening ceremony

Ann Goodwin (Fundraising Chair) and Eileen Dougherty (Co-Chair, Advisory Committee), with Maya Ben-David and Steve Valliant.

Robert M. Krughoff holding a paddle on the old roadway courts

The name

The Center is named in memory of Robert M. Krughoff, whose vision started it all. It was volunteers – hauling debris, patching asphalt, painting lines and building courts – who made that vision real.

“Winning is wonderful. Belonging is better.”

The Krughoff Center's motto

Court rules and etiquette

The short version

Open play format

Rotating pickup play. No registration, no fee.

Court rotation

4-on/4-off: everyone rotates after every game. No challenge courts, no “winners stay.”

Paddle queue

A paddle in the rack claims your spot. The next four in the rack go on.

Game format

Games to 11, win by 2. Doubles take priority when players are waiting.

Court use policy

Free public open play only – no paid instruction, leagues, tournaments, private events or commercial filming without an approved special-use reservation.

Court care

USA Pickleball–approved outdoor balls only. Pack out what you bring. Report issues to a site supervisor or parks@riverfrontfoundation.org.

Site rules

No alcohol, smoking or pets. Keep language and volume family-friendly – we're next to a playground and park.

The courts are built and maintained entirely through private donations.

Court rules and procedures are set and overseen by an Advisory Committee, operating under the management of the Capitol Riverfront Parks Foundation.

Meet the ambassadors

Volunteers who keep play moving

Court Ambassadors are volunteers who open the storage container, set out chairs, clear leaves and debris off the courts, keep play moving fairly, welcome newcomers and lock up at the end of the session.

Think of an Ambassador as a host, not a referee.

Volunteer as an ambassador

Two players on the courts under the freeway, one pointing a paddle toward the next game

Two longtime players chatting on the path beside the courts

Support the courts

Keep play free and open

Donations fund court supplies – balls and loaner paddles – and the ongoing, long-term maintenance that keeps the courts playable: resurfacing, nets, storage and general upkeep. Every court here is free to play because donors keep it that way.

Give to the courts

Donations are processed by the Capitol Riverfront Parks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Location and getting there

Find us on Virginia Avenue SE

100 block of Virginia Ave SE, just south of Garfield Park, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

Parking and transit notes are still being finalized. The courts connect to Garfield Park via the Garfield Connector Project's ADA-accessible ramp, built for bikes and wheelchairs alike.

Get directions

Questions? Email parks@riverfrontfoundation.org or find @krughoffpickleball on Instagram.

Photos: Krughoff Center pickleball community members