Have you driven by your local community park lately and noticed the crowds of people on the courts next to the jam packed parking lot? Those crowds you can bet aren’t there waiting for a tennis court, most likely they are playing America’s fastest growing sport which is pickleball. If you have been asking like everybody else why is pickleball so popular, there are many reasons to explain why the sport is so addictive for participants. We share some of those reasons below along with some facts on just how much the sport of pickleball is growing.
Is Pickleball the Fastest Growing Sport in the United States?
According to a 2022 sports participation report published by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, pickleball grew by 39.3% from 2020 – 2022, with most of that growth coming from players under the age of 30.
Today, most pickleball players that play regularly are still in the older age demographic of 55 years old or more and have been playing for a number of years, but as more courts are built and more people get invited to try the game, the player age profile is starting to come down.
Here are some pickleball participation facts from USA Pickleball:
– 4.8 million people playing pickleball
– 10,000 facilities registered with USA pickleball
– 60% of pickleball participants are men, and 40% are women, but much of the growth now appears to be women players
The average age of all players stands at 38.1 years old for 2021 according to USA Pickleball with that number trending lower as more younger players take up the sport. At the moment, most players that play pickleball are white, college educated, and earn incomes well above the average in the United States.
Pickleball Courts and Facilities:
There are close to 10,000 facilities registered with USA Pickleball places to Play. Growth in those numbers is coming at such a rapid pace that the website is averaging 110 new locations/courts added each month. Total known courts in the US stand at 38,140.
Community Parks and Recreation Departments are Struggling to Keep Up with Pickleball Demand
There are stories from across the country of local parks and recreation departments being inundated with requests from residents to either build new Pickleball courts for use or convert existing tennis courts to pickleball.
A recent study was done by the Seattle Parks and Recreation department and was conducted to survey residents to determine if there was a need for more pickleball courts in the area. The findings of the study were consistent with what many Parks and Recreation departments already know.
– The sport of Pickleball is growing so fast there is a real value to having more and better courts
– It’s a growing sport for a reason – it’s fun, accessible, and easy to learn
– Pickleball is a sport people are leaving Seattle to play (due to lack of courts)
The survey in Seattle generated a strong 3,378 total responses and the demographic profile of the respondents mirrored that of USA Pickleball’s national demographic profile of the typical pickleball player. The survey respondents were 65% white, 42% were 55 years old or more, and 40% reported a household income over $100,000 or more.
Why is Pickleball Gaining in Popularity so Quickly?
Pickleball is fun, social, easy to learn, and can be played by all ages, gender, and abilities. The sport is affordable and requires minimal equipment to get started. In addition, pickleball is a great workout for anyone that plays. With the barriers to entry so low and the social benefit of playing so high, it’s easy to understand why so many are taking up the sport to play with friends.
As a tennis player, my introduction to the sport of pickleball and now love for the game probably progressed much like the stories of others. I swore I would never play pickleball because (I believed at the time) that was the sport that was only played at the courts in retirement communities. Boy was I wrong!
I was invited to play by a young business client that played pickleball regularly 2 – 3 times per week. I played once on a Saturday and was hooked. Not only was the game challenging for someone coming over from tennis, but I got more of a workout than what I expected, and the biggest thing for me was how social the sport is.
That day we might have played 6 – 7 games or so, but what stood out to me is how many people I talked with, joked with, and had great conversations with in between games. We must have rotated between 3 different courts and played against or with 8 – 10 different players. All the while there was joking and laughing and a little good humored trash talk after many of the rapid fire points.
I had so much fun that day I couldn’t wait to play again. Pickleball is much easier on the body when compared to tennis because the court is much smaller in pickleball making the game that much easier. In addition, the pickleball paddle is shorter and the ball lighter than a tennis ball and those combinations of factors make the game much easier to learn compared to the game of tennis.
Pickleball Courts Have Become the Hottest Sports Amenity Request
In Phoenix where I live, you now see builders incorporating pickleball courts in to their community plans because the demand for courts is so high.
Indeed, the builder Lennar included 12 pickleball courts at the Heritage at Asante community in Surprise and residents are actually moving there because of the pickleball courts according to Mike Dowell, an avid pickleball player and the senior vice president of sales & marketing for Lennar.
Because of the success of the home sales at the community in Surprise, Lennar now plans to build 18 pickleball courts and one stadium pickleball court at it’s new community in San Tan near Queen Creek. This community will feature 800 homes and is expected to draw many who will move to the community because of the new pickleball courts.
And according to a recent article published by Architectural Digest, “pickleball has replaced golf as the most coveted sports amenity in residential developments”. The article talks about luxury real estate brand Discovery Land company adding pickleball courts to all of it’s 26 communities.
Pickleball also continues to grow at Troon real estate locations across the country and the 31 Cliff Drysdale Tennis facilities owned by Troon. The company is adding Pickleball courts at a rapid pace as demand for the sport continues to grow.
Pickleball Facilities Opening to meet growing Demand
There are several companies competing to open dedicated Pickleball facilities with some offering food and other entertainment. Locally here in Phoenix we have a business that goes by Pickleball Kingdom now open in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix featuring 16 dedicated pickleball courts.
The company Chicken n Pickle is a Kansas City based business currently with six locations situated mostly in the Midwest which has announced plans to open a new location in 2023 in Glendale, Arizona near the home of the NFL Cardinals.
Smash Park opened it’s first location in Des Moines, IA and now has two open locations serving pickleball enthusiasts in their communities. With plans for two more locations in the works this is another business that has stepped in to the space to fill the demand for pickleball places to play.
The Lucky Shots Pickleball Club in Minneapolis may be one of the nicest dedicated indoor pickleball facilities in the country. The building where Lucky Shots is located was originally built in 1947 and housed the Foley Manufacturing company. Now the 40,000 square foot facility has been repurposed with 12 individually fenced pickleball courts in a fully climate controlled state of the art facility.
The Lucky Shots business was founded by Peter Remes in 2021 and is rumored to have signed up more than 5,000 members since opening. The business plans to add food and beverage to the operation soon to encourage members to spend more time at the facility.
Pickleball now becoming big business
Now there are two competing pickleball tours, a pro pickleball league and pro players are earning a solid living playing pickleball full time in tournaments across the country.
The growth of the game of pickleball started with players playing the game for fun on a makeshift court in the driveway or at the local park if your park was lucky enough to have a court. The sport is now attracting billionaire investors looking to stake out their territory in the sport as they view pickleball as a big money making opportunity.
Celebrity investors like Drew Brees and LeBron James have invested in pro pickleball teams, and there is no shortage of celebrities adding their names to the long list of those that actively play the game.
Pickleball has moved into the mainstream and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. As the number of players that play the sport of Pickleball moves across the 5 million number we will see the sport start to be more present in our sports viewing lives. There are deals being signed for streaming, podcasts, and TV rights so watch for more and more pickleball coming your way soon on an electronic device near you.
Enjoy the ride fellow pickleballers, were just getting started.