Tennis Finds Itself In A Pickle(ball)

The turf war between tennis & pickleball is escalating as US Tennis Assn says 10% of America’s courts have been taken over by tennis’s ugly sister since the pickleball boom began. And why not? Don’t FAR more regular folks play P than T?

As the WSJ recently noted, “there is no longer any denying that tennis and pickleball are [not only] in direct conflict [but] the battle for court space has arrived.” And, we’re told, “tennis is losing ground fast.” Yet, no shock here. “There is not enough courts to support tennis growth,” says USTA CEO Lew Sherr. “And court infrastructure is being compromised with people playing pickleball on those courts or courts being repainted.”

Actually, Sherr’s insight might be the understatement of the year in the sporting world. Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the US, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Assn, with over 10 million people picking up a pickleball paddle in the last 12 months alone. Just go to a nearby park court compound and you’re likely to see the tennis section void of players while the pickleball section has people lined up waiting to play. That’s because, one can easily surmise, that pickleball is much easier to play yet gives the participants plenty of exercise. While in its formative stages, the older generations took pickleball up, I’m starting to see a new waive of young adults adopting it. Not that tennis isn’t going through a popularity spurt itself, the USTA boasting it will surpass 24.5 million players this year and expects 35M by 2035. The market then, is “finding its way,” and will make the final calls. In the meantime, expect few handshakes between tennis & pickleball players as competition for court space likely intensifies.

Davd Soul