A few years back, while working on a photo shoot in Kansas City, Mo., Dan Brooks — a creative director, photographer, and brand builder — kept passing a place called Chicken N Pickle. He eventually asked one of the other photographers what it was.
She explained it was a combination restaurant-pickleball venue. But what was pickleball, exactly? “The photographer said, ‘It’s a game played by retirees in Florida.’ I’m thinking, I’ve played every sport under the sun, but that doesn’t sound like much fun,” Brooks says. “At the end of the project, they decided to have the wrap party at that very restaurant. “One of the food stylists was a tennis player, so she and I ended up playing for an hour. The rest of the people were rolling their eyes as we hammered the ball across the net. But it was actually pretty cool.”
Brooks’ initial entrée into pickleball followed a theme many pickleball players will recognize — they hear about it, often dismiss it, and eventually accept an invitation to play. Then they’re hooked, feeding into the sport’s staggering growth: according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball has grown by 311 percent over a three-year span, with almost 20 million Americans playing pickleball in 2024. That makes it the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. today. Stephen Colbert, Ellen DeGeneres, and George Clooney are reported to be big fans. No newcomer to the sport, Bill Gates claims he’s been playing for 50 years.
A Game for All Ages
Many — most — of the players fueling the surge now are younger people. According to the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP), the average age of pickleball players is now 34.8 years old. More than 70 percent of “avid” players are between the ages of 18 and 44.
But those who used to consider it a game played by retirees weren’t wrong. The sport was invented in 1965 but remained a little-known pastime until the 2000s, when it gained popularity in retirement communities, particularly in Arizona and Florida. In 2001, pickleball was included in the Arizona Senior Olympics.
But the more popular it became among seniors, the more seniors started recruiting younger players — making pickleball one of the few sports where older people have become the trendsetters.
Breanna Walther can attest. She grew up in Connecticut, where her grandfather started playing pickleball after moving into a senior living community that boasted its own league. “He loved it so much that whenever we came over, he would have us play with him,”
Walther says. “That’s when I figured out I really enjoyed it. He got my aunt into it, my mom, and my sister, so it was a nice way to bond as a family.”
Walther later moved to West Palm Beach, Fla., and reconnected with her grandfather’s sport. “I found a pickleball community that has kind of a cult following,” she says. “There are a ton of pickleball courts down here, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one empty.”
When her schedule allows Walther plays weekly; she has friends who play multiple times a week. She’s taken lessons — which she highly recommends — to better understand the rules and the lingo. More recently she’s begun to invest in pickleball gear. “Typically, I prefer to wear biker shorts and a tank top, but I have noticed women wearing the really cute athletic skorts or the athletic dresses with visors. I felt like I had to step up my game a little bit,” she laughs.
Audra Krell in Scottsdale, Ariz. came to the game in a similar fashion — through her 82-year-old mother-in-law. “She said, ‘I’ve been reading about this pickleball…’” Krell remembers her hinting. “I had no interest. But she asked, ‘Will you just hit balls to me?’ We went out and just had a ball. Literally the next week I got some private lessons, and then I joined a league. It blossomed from there.”
Krell now plays two to four times a week. She joined an indoor club that offers group instruction. She’s invested in a pair of shoes designed just for pickleball and her own, high-quality paddle.
Between scheduled games and league practice, Krell sometimes goes to the public courts and volunteers to fill in if someone needs a fourth. “I have found the entire community to be so welcoming,” she says. “Out of anything I’ve done in my life, I have never met as many people as I have in pickleball. It’s a great way to be active in your community.”
Krell has even gotten her grandchildren into it. “They absolutely love it,” she says. “Everyone can play, and I love that. We have a place in Coronado, Cal., and we always tell friends to bring their pickleball paddles. We play right on the beach.”
From Backyard to Big League
Another indication of pickleball’s popularity is the number of businesses now catering to it. The Chicken N Pickle that Dan Brooks visited in Kansas City was its original location, but it’s now grown into a chain with multiple locations. Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes are among its investors. Several other pickleball-restaurant hybrids have sprung up around the country.
Athletic stores have also gotten into the game. Nearly all the big chains now sell pickleball clothing and gear, while newer, niche stores like jojo+lo Pickleball Wear and Pickleball Bella cater exclusively to the fashion-minded pickleball player. Last June, Glamour published a story on “24 Best Pickleball Outfits to Ace Your On-Court Look.”
While entrepreneurs are finding business opportunities in pickleball’s popularity, the sport has also developed a professional competitive scene that’s attracting major investment. The PPA Tour holds nationally televised tournaments in cities around the country, while Major League Pickleball (MLP) currently boasts 22 teams; LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees have all invested in MLP teams. Top pickleball players have sponsorships from sporting equipment, apparel, and shoe companies.
Meanwhile, Dan Brooks, the branding executive who discovered the sport by chance at a Chicken N Pickle, has expanded his own relationship with pickleball to include two creative business ventures. With a partner, he created an app called DiNKR to make it easy for players to schedule games with friends or even find new playing partners. He also sees DiNKR as a potential dating app — you never know who you might meet across the net.
Bigger yet, he has written a script for a feature film about pickleball, “In a Pickle,” drawing inspiration from the comedy classic “Dodgeball,” with writer David Z. Price and music and film producer Jason Reid. It’s currently in pre-production.
Bonding Through Sport
Still, for all the hype, pickleball remains true to its roots as a friendly game enjoyed among friends, family, and the millions of devotees who comprise the country’s celebrated pickleball community. It’s a sport that brings people together, and that’s what they love about it.
Toren Anderson in Birmingham, Ala. says he had played pickleball exactly twice before he and his wife Helen decided to include a pickleball court when they built their new house. He says the court has attracted friends, neighbors, and even loose acquaintances who call often asking to play. Their teenage son’s friends are always on the court; their daughter is in college, but her younger friends still at home are regulars as well.
“It’s a great way to hang out with people, because it’s not so strenuous that you can’t talk while you play,” Anderson says. “Sometimes we make up our own rules, so it’s a friendly game, though I definitely have friends who are fiercely competitive.”
For his part, Brooks has gone from picking up his first paddle three years ago to serving as commissioner of the southern division of the Queen City Pickleball League in his adopted home of Charlotte, N.C. “The league is competitive, but it’s not necessarily governed by the competitiveness,” he says. “It’s governed by the social dimension of the sport. From my point of view, if you take it as a way to socialize, have friendly rivalries, and appreciate the diverse range of people you come across, then you’re there for the right reasons.”
