Once featuring rock ’n’ roll, jeans, and McDonald’s, today’s American culture is proudly represented by… pickleball. This intersection of tennis, badminton, and ping pong has been the fastest growing sport by participation in the United States for four consecutive years and does not seem to be losing its momentum any time soon. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association, which conducts scientific studies across all fields of sport in the country, reported roughly 20 million pickleball players at the end of 2024, which translates to an average year-on-year increase of over 40% in half a decade. About a third of all participants are core active players, defined as those who grab a paddle and head to the courts at least eight times per year. In the meantime, the number of pickleball courts is about to reach a staggering 3,000, notwithstanding mobile nets used for indoor games or tennis courts that can, with just a piece of chalk, be turned into a proto pickleball area.
Remedy in the Midst of Crisis
While the world watches the pickleball craze explode from the East to the West Coast, nobody recalls that this phenomenon has already been observed—twice.
Between the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929 and the presidential election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) in 1933, about a quarter of the American labour force became unemployed. The society facing famine, poverty, and humiliation, welcomed the new congressional acts and programmes, collectively known as the New Deal. FDR, himself a man of sport, raised in paternalism, Christianity, and discipline, designed a health project not only to revive the crippled economy of the United States but also to improve the mental and physical condition of its society. His experiment involved short-term public work, which concentrated around the construction of parks and public facilities, effectively introducing leisure into labour. Tennis and basketball courts, among its main beneficiaries, not only brought new salaries, but also rendered “sport for all”.
Similarly, Ronald Reagan would turn back to sport as a remedy for the US economy, in the aftermath of the two 1970s oil crises. To alleviate the soaring unemployment in 1983, the US President once again designated $155 million to developing, repairing, and restoring public parks and recreation sites, which, alongside the projects of hospital and road construction, and prison repair, increased public morale and pride. Instead of unemployment checks, the previously out-of-work received salaries and social time at the courts.
Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying isolation, poor health, and a new influx of unemployment caused by the 2020 recession, created the ideal circumstances for the pickleball boom. The low cost of entry, easy learning curve, and particularly the social aspect and outdoor setting are among the main factors for American society to take to the courts. This time, however, the public project was organised from within and supported by the private sphere, which reveals a lot about how the US economy has since transformed and appears to remain.
From Court to Market
At a closer look, pickleball increasingly represents a microcosm of the US economy. The supply and demand forces, competition, and investment flows symbolically follow the established economic architecture of the country.
While FDR’s New Deal got the closest to the welfare state in the US, the situation today largely differs. In 1933, and later in 1983, the state sponsored both productivity and discipline, as well as leisure. Financed through taxpayer money, the relief projects generally cost more than private construction works, while labourers were paid a larger share in wages. The employment was granted on a rotational basis in order to provide the largest number of individuals with at least subsistence income. Prior to the New Deal, tennis or basketball had limited appeal. It was their high accessibility that made them popular over time.
In contrast, pickleball flourishes on the capital gains of private investments. National Basketball Association champions such as LeBron James, Draymond Green, and Kevin Love have since acquired their own pickleball teams, attracting sponsors to the new sport and sowing some envy among the venture capitalists, who increasingly invest in related firms, tournaments, and courts. Other industries also seek to secure their own share, with the pickleball restaurant-entertainment model establishing itself as the leading format. Once in a while, a middle-class individual rises to the ranks of American wealth. Such was the case with Selkirk Sport, which grew from a family-owned business in the state of Idaho to a top paddle producer selling pickleball equipment at major chains across the country.
The rising demand for the new paddle sport, placing it next to golf, tennis, and basketball in the country’s rankings, is gradually met by the supply side, relying on efficiency and cost maximisation. This is why the once publicly constructed tennis courts are now being transformed, causing much discontent among their enthusiasts. Due to size divergence, four pickleball courts can replace just one tennis court. While the construction of 12 new facilities would approximately cost $1 million, transforming four tennis courts instead cuts the costs to $150,000. This is called economies of scale.
Prior to COVID-19, a professional pickleball player could make a living from tournaments. Once the pandemic eased and the discipline’s boom began, the increased competition pushed the average revenue per player down, resulting in many pursuing side jobs such as running camps, clinics, or private teaching. Meanwhile the “public” recreational sites ceased to be commonly free. Within large cities that once promised open access, paid yearly passes, online reservations, hourly court fees, and even added costs for lighting are now implemented. One would expect that with such developments the pickleball players, comprising only 6% of American society, will no longer require the support of taxpayer funds. Yet in 2025, the state of Arizona, following many towns across the country, levied a uniform 2% tax to cover new infrastructure costs, including construction and maintenance of the pickleball courts.
New Challenger on the Court
The “liberalisation” of pickleball is evident. The composition of participation in the US reflects significant development with over 40% being female players, also within the core of active players. Children as young as six meet on the courts with teenagers and adults alike. Seniors aged 65 and above comprise the largest group in the core and second largest overall. Socioeconomically, the upper middle class dominates the sport, yet lower-income earners together account for roughly 60% of participants and are relatively evenly distributed across income levels. While White/Caucasian players still make up the majority, Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians are increasingly present on the courts.
Globally, the US accounts for an overwhelming share of the estimated 22 million active players, with its runner-up Canada left far behind. Other continents represent less than a million core participants. The picture changes, however, when less regular players are taken into account. Sources report anywhere between 80 and 120 million people worldwide who have tried pickleball at least once. In Asia alone, roughly one in five people has already been exposed to the new paddle sport; a milestone no other discipline has achieved in under a decade. Who knows—maybe Asia, with China and India in the lead, will soon contest America’s dominance in pickleball as well.
Written by Aleksandra Drozd, Edited by Sarah Jiayi Drogies
Photo Credit: Laura Tang (uploaded 2024, April 1) on Unsplash.
