Why Pickleball Keeps Growing & Why You’re Obsessed

Mom-daughter team. Leigh, left, and Anna Leigh Waters PPA 2024 (Picture Kerry Pittenger)

Take a look at the crowd in the picture above—everyone is beaming with happiness, and that’s nice, but it barely hints at the obsession that is taking over the world right now. So, why are we so hooked?

You’re not alone. In the past 12 months, nearly 50 million people, or 19% of Americans, have experienced the same joyful feeling you did. It goes a little something like this: you heard about the game, and then you heard about it again. Or a friend said, “Come play Pickleball,” and you replied, “Pickle what?” Either way, you found yourself on a court, something that had never crossed your mind just a few weeks prior.

But then it happened—you had fun, and you didn’t completely suck. After playing, you walked to the car, got in the driver’s seat, and thought, “Maybe I could actually be good at this.” Something you never say after playing most other sports for the first time. A few days later, you found yourself back at the courts, maybe with someone you knew, or maybe you felt bold enough to go alone. In fact, you can’t quite recall how you even got there, as if some kind of addiction gnawed away at you until you got your fix.

You Can’t Stop Talking About It

Two weeks later, you were with a friend, and the only thing you could talk about was this pickleball thing. They were annoyed, but you didn’t care. They continued on, and suddenly your friend used one of two words to describe this newfound love for the game: addicted or obsessed. You brushed it off and maybe even said, “So what if I am?” Then you got back to talking about how Linda, age 77, really gave you the business last time you were on the courts.

It’s a beautiful thing, pickleball, and it feels like it’s completely taking over the world. Well, I’ve got news for you—it is. There are three reasons why:

• Childlike discovery
• Shareability
• Community

Jaume Martinez Vich (Picture Nick Uzunyan)

Childlike Discovery

What is it about a game that brings back the kid in us? James Clear, American writer, said it best when he said,

“Children are joyful and treat each day as a miracle in part because they’re continually surprised. Each day, they hear a new word, listen to a new song, or learn about a new animal. It’s their first time visiting that restaurant, jumping in that pool, or riding that roller coaster. The world is continually unfolding before them.”

But as we get older, we lose that. We treat each day as just another day. We hear each word as just another word. That childlike wonder and sense of newness feels hard to find. But then, out of nowhere, you get into pickleball, and it’s like you’re a kid again discovering something new. It gave you that new thing feeling, that new excitement rush. The ball was high, and you smashed it. The serve was yours, and you crushed it. The game was close, and you won it. Those feelings are why it’s no accident pickleball is on the rise. It’s those same feelings that make you go back to the courts day after day, week after week, and for some of you, year after year.

James Ignatowich & Tyson McGuffin (Picture Nick Uzunyan)

And when you have those feelings like a kid experiencing something new, you share it with others. In life, we love to share with those around us. When something excites us, we share. When something makes us laugh, we share. When something brings us unimaginable joy, we share. At its core, I also believe we share because we want to make others’ lives better.

When a person plays pickleball and catches what some call the pickle bug, they can’t help but tell everyone they know about this new game they just started playing. And here’s the thing—they don’t just mention it in passing. They literally won’t shut up about it. You know what it’s like because they’re having so much fun going to the courts after work or on the weekends. Been there? I know I have.

Now, multiply this a thousand times over, and suddenly you have a sport bringing new people to the game daily and ultimately taking the world by storm, which inevitably creates more of the one thing we all need in our lives: community.

This may be the one game where people from all walks of life get competitive with people they never otherwise interact with. Tom Brady and LeBron James don’t typically compete against each other, but they can in pickleball. 77-year-old women don’t typically compete against 23-year-old men, but they can in pickleball. Billionaires don’t typically compete against high school kids, but they can in pickleball. Your demographic doesn’t matter—the game promotes community.

In fact, even the size of the court promotes community. At 44 by 20 feet, you’re so physically close to everyone you’re playing with. You can’t help but meet new people, form new friendships, and talk a little trash. You know what I’m talking about. It’s a beautiful thing to watch and, I’ll go a step further—it’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.

To Wrap Things Up

Yes, this game is blowing up like nothing we’ve ever seen. Courts are being built, friendships are being made, tournaments are being played, sponsorship deals are being inked, and businesses are being built. But maybe the most important thing of all—we’re doing this together. We’re having fun together, we’re laughing together, we’re competing together, we’re learning together, we’re living together. It’s as if we’re all riding this wave of being a part of something bigger than us.

Because the truth is, while no one truly owns pickleball, we all do feel this sense of ownership over the game together. We love to defend it from the tennis haters. We promote it on our social media as we saw it, and our friends send us pickleball news as if we didn’t already know. You know what I’m talking about. It’s a beautiful game that brings out the kid in all of us, a game that’s going to be around for a long, long time.

So here’s my challenge for you—let’s all continue to be a light that brings joy to others by inviting them into this game. Those are three reasons that pickleball is changing the world. Let’s keep going.

Think you know pickleball inside and out? Challenge yourself with ThatPickleball IQ Test and see if you can score a perfect 10 out of 10!