The Fastest Growing Sport in America Is Not What You Think It Is
Sorry seniors, pickleball is for everyone now
—By Tommy Karadimas
Pickleball, yes, pickleball, is the fastest growing sport in the nation. The previous conception as an elderly-niche and limited sport has been blown away by recent data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). More and more young people are participating in the sport of pickleball, with the average age of players declining steadily. There has been 40% growth in the number of pickleball players over the last 2 years, with over a half-million players joining the sport in the past year alone. But, what even is pickleball?
Pickleball basics
Pickleball combines tennis, badminton and ping-pong into one, consisting of a badminton-size court with a tennis net, plus paddles and a plastic ball with holes. It can be played indoors or outdoors by people of all ages and skill levels, and you can choose to play both singles and doubles. Although it is entertaining and fun, one of the reasons pickleball has blown up is that it is incredibly social and friendly, a piece of life impacted by the pandemic. Additionally, the rules are simple and beginners catch on quick, but after the short learning curve, improvement is slow yet addicting. This combination makes players of all experience levels want to keep coming back for more.
History of pickleball
Now that we covered what pickleball is, it’s helpful to explore when pickleball started and how it grew until recently, according to USA Pickleball.
At first, pickleball was hardly known and spread slowly. In 1965, the first game was played, and 2 years later, the first official pickleball court was built. The first article about pickleball was published almost a decade later by the National Observer, and in 1976, the first official pickleball tournament was held. In 1984, the first pickleball rule book was published. In the 1990s, Pickle-Ball, Inc. started manufacturing standardized pickleballs, and the first pickleball website, named Pickleball Stuff, was created.
In the early 2000s, the sport started to pick up some steam. Pickleball debuted in the Arizona Senior Olympics, and it attracted 100 players, the largest event yet. Additionally, the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) was established. In 2008, ABC’s Good Morning America aired a segment on pickleball, its first mass media exposure, and one year later, the first national tournament was held, attracting almost 400 players.
In the 2010s, the word about pickleball circulated throughout the nation. In 2016, Pickleball Magazine launched as the first professional pickleball publication, and the US Open Pickleball Championships was televised on CBS Sports Network. In 2018, the USAPA national championship sponsored by Margaritaville, attracted over 2,200 players, and aired on ESPN.
The sport currently has an approximate 5 million players in the US. What a journey!
Pickleball youngsters
Over the years, pickleball has built a reputation for being a predominantly senior sport, but now, the frenzy is spreading to the younger generations. While a huge portion of players are still over the age of 55, herds of kids and young adults are joining the pickleball community. Although a national phenomenon, many UM students are taking up pickleball right here in Ann Arbor.
Pickleball is one of the many IM sports offered through UM. UM senior and IM sports fanatic Elena Renke has been playing pickleball for about 2.5 years. She says that “With the pandemic, people realized how detrimental a sedentary and isolated lifestyle can be, and pickleball provides a great outlet for people of all ages to get some physical activity in while also having fun with friends.”
Elena’s pickleball career started during the infamous Covid quarantine, and she and some family and friends just started playing for fun. For her, pickleball has been one of her favorite ways to take a break from the stress of life and just enjoy time with friends. “It’s such a fun sport that keeps you moving and engaged the whole time.”
Since pickleball can be played both outdoors and indoors, the IM seasons span the entirety of both the Fall and Winter semesters. This is especially cool for UM students, allowing them to destress, socialize, and have some fun through what can seem like eternal semesters. Also, unlike a lot of other sports, it’s pretty easy to pick up, making it enticing for those who may be embarrassed to try out something new.
Pro pickleball
You heard it right. With pickleball becoming an increasingly popular and nationally recognized sport, there are now various pro pickleball leagues sprouting up all over the country and a growing number of talented individual players and teams attempting to make their mark.
It turns out that many current pros are ex-athletes of other sports, namely tennis, and have fallen in love with both the competitive and social aspect of pickleball. Andrei Daescu used to play tennis, competing on the ATP tour, and at one point, reaching a doubles ranking as high as No. 126 in the world. In 2016, after Andrei’s tennis career, Kyle Yates, a pro pickleball player, came to Andrei’s tennis club and did a learn and play clinic, introducing Andrei to the sport of pickleball. Andrei told me that he was immediately hooked. “I thought the game was really cool. It got me competing again and that means the world to me.”
Andrei says that the sport has introduced him to new friends, allowed him to travel to a bunch of different cities and meet all the people in these places, and get his body back in shape. He thinks that pickleball is popular because it’s easy to learn and play, which allows the rather unathletic crowd to join in on the fun. He also enjoys the social aspect of the sport. Unlike tennis or golf, you can play a pickleball game in 15-30 minutes with 3 players, sit down and chat, then get back up and play another game with 3 completely different people than the ones you played with at first.
Being a pro is becoming an enticing and profitable career because of an increasing number of fans, sponsors, and prize money. Currently, the total major tournament payout in the Professional Pickleball Association Tour is $159,646 and is expected to rise sharply in the coming years.
With a combination of fun and social competition with a chance to make some big bucks, no wonder swarms of ex-athletes are coming out of retirement to compete again at the highest level.
The OG’s
We can’t leave out the group that started this thing, the pickleball players who were here from the beginning. What do they think of pickleball and what got them into it?
Michelle Nedic, a long time athlete and exceptionally active person, said the way she started her pickleball journey was rather simple, “I just saw people playing it and it looked like fun.” She has since gone on to organize a league during the Covid restrictions to help people in her community get out of the house, socialize, and engage in some healthy competition. This league involves weekly meetings at the various indoor and outdoor tennis and pickleball courts throughout her area.
She personally loves the social aspect of the game and thinks it is great for maintaining her reflexes. She thinks the sport of pickleball has spread like wildfire because it doesn’t require a ton of skill, so people of all ages and body types can play. She says that the games go quickly, so you can play with a lot of different people in a short amount of time, and that it can be played all year round because you can play both indoors and outdoors.
It seems that the sport became and remained popular with the older crowd early on because it is extremely social, fun, and easy exercise, a great combination for a long and healthy life.
Final thoughts
Although these groups seem vastly different, they all want the same thing in a sport – Fun competition and great exercise. Also, with the pandemic, all people, young and old, are reaching out to find any and every way to socialize, and pickleball has been a speedy conduit towards this.
That is why pickleball is exploding, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Whether you’re a kid in college, an adult, ex-athlete, or old-timer, Try it out—pick up a paddle, grab some friends, and find a court. If you play it right, you should get a heck of a workout in and be smiling with enthusiasm the whole time.
Featured image: pickleball player; photo credit, Joan Azeka on Unsplash