People are playing pickleball everywhere in America. It’s the hottest thing at the moment,” said Nina Kelly, sipping on a Long Island. “The sport has taken off in a huge way,” said the director of marketing and communications at The Countryside of Philadelphia during a recent meeting.
After doing some research and asking around, I found that not only pickleball is popular, it has already caught the attention of the likes of LeBron James and Tom Brady.
Just to offer a perspective as to where the fastest-growing sport in America stands, there are over 4.8 million people playing the game. By 2030, pickleball is projected to attract an estimated 40 million players across the globe and investors are jumping in on the craze.
Blending in
Pickleball is often described as a blend of tennis, ping-pong and badminton. The rules are simple. Two teams (usually two people each) send the ball back and forth on a small court, separated by a low net. The side to score 11 points, by a margin of at least two, wins. Serves need to be diagonal and underhand, the ball needs to bounce on each side before a volley and players can’t hit when standing in a close-to-the-net area known as “the Kitchen”.
Though the sport is going through the big-league moments at the moment, it was invented in the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island. Three friends were responsible for it, including future US congressman Joel Pritchard. They wanted an activity that people of all ages and fitness levels could participate in. The sport pickleball expanded; in 1976, Tennis magazine called it “America’s newest racquet sport”.
The name of the sport resides in a grey area of lore with some saying it is named after Pritchard’s dog, Pickles, who would chase the ball and run away with it. Pritchard’s wife, Joan, has said she called it pickleball because the meshing of different sports reminded her of the “pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats”, according to the Pickleball Association’s history of the game.
Becoming popular among youngsters
The sport’s popularity has skyrocketed in the last few years among investors. According to CNBC, from 2016 to 2019, pickleball grew an average of 7.2 per cent annually in the US from 2.8 million players to 3.5 million, but that growth skyrocketed 39.3 per cent from 2020 to 2021, with 4.8 million Americans playing the racket sport. And over the past five years, pickleball saw an average annual growth of 11.5 per cent, while similar sports like badminton and ping-pong saw negative growth of -3.7 per cent and -1.2 per cent, respectively.
Perhaps the popularity has to do a lot with how it can be played across age groups and income levels.
In the past, half of all serious pickleball players (those who play eight or more times a year) in 2021 were 55 and older, according to the USA Pickleball Association. But the vast majority of casual players are under 55, and the fastest-growing segment of all pickleball players are under 24.
The learning curve is simple. In tennis, the balls go all over the place. Here you’re hitting a plastic Wiffle-like ball, which is less bouncy while the paddle is easier to handle because it’s shorter and lighter than a tennis racket.
The game is slower while players have less ground to cover. It is possible to fit four pickleball courts onto one tennis court, and most picklers play doubles.
The sport has also been in the news for injuries, like sprains, rotator cuff pain and so on, but it’s not as complicated as tennis-related injuries.
Pickleball is a perfect sport to improve hand-eye coordination and it’s also good for one’s agility. Since there’s a lot of rotations involved, players end up working their core along with upper and lower extremities.
Future forecast
As the sport becomes popular, there has been a spate of team investments and growing equipment sales, with the pickleball paddle market size expected to grow 68 per cent from $152.8 million in 2021 to a forecasted $256.1 million by 2028, according to Absolute Reports. There are professional leagues looking for players. Major League Pickleball, or MLP, launched last year and it has made headlines with investments in the seven-figure range from celebrity athletes like LeBron James and Tom Brady. Next year, the MLP is looking to expand from 12 teams to 16 and to shell out over $2 million in prize money.
There are even pickleball influencers on Instagram, like Leo Chun, and blogs, like Crazy Pickleball Lady. CBS Sports Network, ESPN3, Fox Sports and the Tennis Channel have all announced plans to broadcast the sport in various capacities. There is even a magazine, InPickleball, that began publishing last September and it has nine issues per year with a circulation of about 45,000. One of its popular picture spread has been with Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave, the daughter of singer-songwriter John Mellencamp and the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member.
Playing in your neighbourhood?
Since the game doesn’t require a high skill set, it can be enjoyed anywhere. Pickleball paddles appear like oversized ping-pong paddles, and the balls are plastic and have lots of little holes in them, similar to Wiffle balls. The standard pickleball court is the same size as a badminton court (20 feet across and 44 feet deep) or about a quarter the size of a tennis court, and it’s divided in the middle by a net that’s 34 inches high in the centre. Amazon and other e-comm platforms are stocking pickleball equipment in India but at the moment, pricing is not very friendly outside the States.
Who’s playing it?
- There are over 4.8 million people playing the game in the US. By 2030, pickleball is projected to attract an estimated 40 million players across the globe and investors are jumping in on the craze
- In the past, half of all serious pickleball players (those who play eight or more times a year) in 2021 were 55 and older, according to the USA Pickleball Association. But the vast majority of casual players are under 55, and the fastest-growing segment of all pickleball players are under 24
- Over the past five years, pickleball saw an average annual growth of 11.5 per cent, while similar sports like badminton and ping-pong saw negative growth of -3.7 per cent and -1.2 per cent, respectively
Anna Leigh Waters with her mother, Leigh Waters Ò
RULES AND REGULATIONS
- Pickleball is played either as doubles or singles; doubles is most common
- The same size playing area and rules are used for both singles and doubles
The serve
- The server’s arm must be moving in an upward arc when the ball is struck.
- Paddle contact with the ball must not be made above the waist level
Serving sequence
- Both players on the serving doubles team have the opportunity to serve and score points until they commit a fault (except for the first service sequence of each new game)
- The first serve of each side-out is made from the right/even court
- If a point is scored, the server switches sides and the server initiates the next serve from the left/odd court
Scoring
- Points are scored only by the serving team
- Games are normally played to 11 points, win by 2
Two-bounce rule
- When the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce before returning, and then the serving team must let it bounce before returning, thus two bounces