Pickleball: From backyard to Olympics?

It sounds like a game made up in the latter stages of a raucous party, but pickleball has Olympic aspirations and is growing rapidly both at home, in the USA, and in Germany.

The sport is played on a something resembling a badminton court with a much lower net and involves two or four players playing a tennis-like game but using oversized table-tennis bats and a hard polymer ball that doesn't bounce much. Volleying is not permitted in the front section of the court.

It's been around since the mid sixties, when a pair of dads invented it to occupy their bored kids, but has suddenly captured public attention in recent years.

A 2022 study by the non-profit Sports and Fitness Industry Association in the US found that, between 2019 and 2021, the number of male and female players rose by 39% to 4.8 million, making it the "fastest-growing sport in America for the second year in a row."

Germany picking up on pickleball

"That's really crazy," Andreas Kopkau, chairman of the German Pickleball Association, told SID of the development in the US, before adding that "it's also clearly picking up speed in Germany."

While the US is the sport's heartland (it's even recently become the state sport of Washington), Kopkau's claim is based around the fact that, since 2017, the number of German clubs has risen from three to more than 60.

But a sporting landscape where football dominates and handball, tennis, ice hockey, basketball and winter sports are also popular, makes things difficult.

"The many sports in Germany and the limited hall time are slowing us down," says Kopkau. "It is difficult to meet the demand."

Another difficulty is finding suitable courts. Many of Germany's tennis courts, a natural venue to adapt, are clay and thus impossible to play pickleball on. "I need a smooth floor for the hard plastic ball, otherwise it bounces," Kopkau explains.

Nevertheless, the 52-year-old says there is "a clear push" among a number of European countries to advocate for Olympic status. "A lot of people are looking at it, there are efforts to make the sport Olympic-ready," says Kopkau. "But we are still relatively far away."

Major sports stars onboard

One aspect that might get the sport closer to the Games is the growing endorsement of celebrity athletes.

German basketball great Dirk Nowitzki retired in 2019 after scoring 31,560 points for the Dallas Mavericks. But he recently took to the pickleball court with a number of other sportsmen including tennis pro John Isner and golfer Jordan Speith.

Nowitzki's fellow basketballer LeBron James, former tennis player Kim Clijsters and American football star Tom Brady are among those who have invested in 'Major League Pickleball' with an eye on translating the growing interest into growing financial value.

The organization's website boasts of a $100,000 prize for an upcoming event and of the "The 40 By 30 Project," which they describe as "an initiative to harness the incredible momentum of pickleball to bring the joy of pickleball to forty million people by the year 2030."

Easy to learn

Part of the reason for the sport's growth is that it has a relatively shallow learning curve and power is less important than tactics and subtlety. Such a blend makes it easy for beginners to pick up and for those who are older or who have mobility issues.

As an example, Kopkau cites his 72-year-old father. He is apparently able to play with the youngest player at his club, an 11-year-old. "I don't know in how many sports such a constellation is feasible," he said.

While German pickleballers face a few challenges in terms of access and competition, the game's popularity in the US shows no sign of slowing, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.

"Pickleball has grown in popularity for the past five years and did not miss a beat during the pandemic. Pickleball's growth trajectory gives every indication it will be a significant part of the American sport landscape for the foreseeable future," said Tom Cove, the organization's President and CEO.

From a backyard game to 63 registered national associations and millions of active players. Is the Olympic podium next?

Edited by Matt Ford