05/13/2026
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From Today's - "THE PICKLE PRESS"
We all know how popular pickleball has become in the United States, but what will happen in the next 5 or 10 years? Will it continue to expand its presence here? Or grow more overseas? Let's take a look...
According to the 2026 Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) report, there were 24.3 million Americans who played pickleball in 2025, which made for an almost 23% increase from the previous year.
It has also grown by nearly 172% in the last three years, making it easily the fastest growing sport in America during that time. Furthermore, the age groups of 25 & under and 25-34 saw the greatest upticks in growth.
Culturally, pickleball has also taken off such that town parks often have dedicated courts, and private indoor facilities are popping up all over the place. Moreover, pro pickleball can be watched on network television, and pickleball was featured in Super Bowl commercials in 2024 and 2025.
On the other hand, while pickleball continues to grow, its rate of growth has slowed. Because while the 23% growth rate in 2025 is good, its growth from 2023 to 2024 was twice that, at 46%.
Also, while pro pickleball is being watched more, none of its athletes are household names outside of real pickleball fans. And remember the Super Bowl ads in 2024 and 2025? Well, there wasn't one in 2026.
This isn't to say that pickleball has a problem. But it is a reminder that when there are a fixed number of people in a country, the growth rate cannot continue to increase forever.
That's not a bad thing here in America. Rather than being the hot new toy, we may just have to exist as an established sport right up there with (and most likely surpassing in participation) sports like golf and tennis.
In terms of pure growth, however, there is still great potential in other countries, particularly in Asia, where countries like Vietnam, India, and China are starting to embrace pickleball in a big way.
"Asia has grown quite fond of pickleball, and it's their new emerging sport," said Jack Munro, the #1 ranked men’s doubles player on the APP Tour. "My prediction is that Asia is going to produce a lot of the pickleball talent in the next 3-5 years."
When you consider that other non-Asian countries, including Canada and Australia, also have massive pickleball communities, its future as an Olympic sport is also very bright—probably not for Los Angeles in 2028, but very possibly for 2032 in Brisbane, Australia.
