tHE PICKLEBALL EXPLOSION

Pickleball — a combination of tennis, badminton and ping-pong — surged in popularity over the past two years. But the sport's rapid rise is much more than a pandemic-fueled fad.  For the last several years, the sport of pickleball has been dubbed the “fastest-growing sport in America.”  According to the 2019 Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) Participant Report, there are currently approximately 3.3 million players in the United States.

State of play: Pickleball participation grew by 21.3% between 2019 and 2020, prompting the Economist to declare it "the fastest growing sport in America." 4.2 million Americans now play at least once a year.  

• Demand for courts is exploding, with cities building new facilities and private clubs replacing tennis courts. 
• Professionalization has expanded, with newly-launched Major League Pickleball joining the APP and PPA tours. Country clubs are also hiring their own pros to teach members. 
• Commercialization is happening fast, with equipment/apparel brands like Recess and publications like In Pickleball banking on the sport's continued rise. 
• A youth movement is underway, as more schools add pickleball to physical education classes. Most "core" players (play 8+ times per year) are still 65+, but most "casual" players are now in the 8–34 age range. 

What they're saying: "Pickleball is the only sport where my whole family — from my kids to my parents — can play together and have an absolute blast," says Dave Fleming, 54, a senior pickleball pro.  

• At the same time, people are starting to recognize that it can be played at a crazy high level, in huge venues, in front of tons of fans. 
• Celebrities are playing. 
• Athletes from other sports are playing.

How to play: Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island (near Seattle) by three dads, including future Rep. Joel Pritchard.  The three dads in Washington state faced a dilemma familiar to beleaguered parents in 2021: how to keep their restless children entertained. They threw together wooden paddles, a badminton net, and a perforated plastic ball. The sport “pickleball” was born, deriving its name—according to one legend—from a dog named Pickle, which kept running away with the ball.

• Games are generally played to 11 (win by two) on a surface roughly a third the size of a tennis court (20 feet x 44 feet) with whiffle balls and paddles. You can play doubles or singles. 
• Points are only scored by the service team. Volleying is allowed as long as it's not on the service return or the return of that return — and as long as it's not in "the kitchen," a seven-foot-deep area on each side of the net.