Pickleball

Background

Pickleball has been named the fastest-growing participation sport in America for several years, with middle-America states like Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas leading the growth. The fast-paced racquet sport combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, to create a fun, easy-to-learn game that can be played by people of all ages and skill levels (how to play).

The outdoor game experienced a surge in popularity during the 2020 pandemic because it could be set up in driveways, be played by all ages, and allowed for safe social interactions.

That social aspect has helped Pickleball’s popularity continue to rise post-pandemic. A March 2023 APP report showed 48.3 million American adults played the sport in the last 12 months.

Invention

Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, by Bill Bell and then-Washington State congressman Joel Pritchard. To entertain their bored children, they made up a game that used ping pong paddles to hit a wiffle ball over a hip-height badminton net.

The game was developed further by family friend Barney McCallum, who cut larger and more-reliable paddles from plywood. The trio began developing their own rules and eventually named the game Pickle Ball.

How they settled on the name is disputed, with the McCallum’s claiming it was named after a dog, and Pritchard’s wife writing it was named after the “pickle boat” in rowing.

In 1967, Pritchard’s neighbor built the first permanent pickleball court, and the game took off locally. People began asking for ways to get the paddles, leading the trio to officially form Pickle Ball Inc. in 1972. Within a few years, they were manufacturing box sets to include all the equipment.

Early History

Pickleball gained national recognition with a 1975 National Observer article. But it was the first official Pickleball tournament in Spring 1976 that officially changed Pickleball from a backyard pastime to a competitive sport.

In July 1976, Tennis Magazine dubbed Pickleball, “America’s newest racquet sport,” legitimizing the game while educating tennis fans on the rules. The sport eventually became popular in retirement communities, where it was embraced as a low-impact social exercise activity.

After organizing tournaments for several years, Sid William founded the first governing body of Pickleball, the USAPA, and established the first official rule book. Now known as USA Pickleball, the organization has roughly 80,000 members.

As tournament play expanded in the early 1980s, players began looking for competitive advantages. Arlen Paranto, an engineer at Boeing, used spare floor panels to create a composite paddle in 1984 with his son. The lighter paddle became must-have equipment for tournament players.

By 1990, Pickleball was being played in all 50 states, and the sport expanded globally in the following decade.

Pro Leagues

The foundation for the professionalization of the sport was set in 2009, when the first US Pickleball National Championship was held in Arizona. Prize money and corporate sponsors started in the middle 2010s, with the first two professional tours, the APP and the PPA, launching in 2019.

Pickleball’s popularity exploded during the pandemic, and with celebrity investors and high-profile players, billionaire Steve Kuhn launched Major League Pickleball in 2021. The team-based league holds drafts, similar to other pro sports.

Competitive tension led to a fragmented professional scene, and in 2024, the PPA Tour and MLP merged to form the United Pickleball Association, aiming to unify the professional landscape of pickleball.

Future

The formation of the PPA Asia and MLP Asia in late 2024, along with the planned Pickleball World Championships in 2025, are set to further expand Pickleball’s global reach, which currently spans 60 countries.

Pickleball's popularity will require significant investment in infrastructure. In 2023, the SFIA estimated 25,000 new courts were needed at a cost of $900M.

New technological advancements like smart paddles, smart courts, and VR coaching tools are revolutionizing how Pickleball is played, analyzed, and taught.

The market outlook is expected to jump from $1.5B in 2023 to $4.4B in 2033. North America leads the market, generating $570M in revenue in 2024.