Is pickleball on the decline already?

ByeByePoly said:
I no longer believe foam balls will ever be the solution. We like hitting balls (racket/paddle games) … and we like hearing and feeling the hitting. Although it’s laughable to compare the satisfaction of hitting a tennis ball with strings to anything pickleball, there is an element of hitting/feeling/hearing.

I only play pickleball indoors and there was never tennis courts there … so I am a non-offending retired tennis player. :cool:

Obviously it would vary by location/city … but in many places public tennis courts quit being full and maintained by the city long before pickleball. Fluctuating demand dictates private club numbers … but cities face decisions beyond profit/loss. I started tennis at parks and schools … long before private clubs years. Those well maintained park courts is over in many places. I think one model that probably is workable is one large public tennis facility rather than park courts maintained across the city.
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Not feasible in a spread-out city. Long drives and parking issues.
 
Dunlop300g said:
Build you own courts ... don't destroy tennis courts that are already in use. The noise issue alone is going to kill pickleball or it's going to morph into another racquet sport that uses foam balls. Like our tennis pro uses the PB courts to teach beginning children how to hit with foam balls.
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I am not building any courts at all — tennis, pickleball or otherwise. Why are you telling me this?

BTW, as mentioned, I play Pball primarily indoors— usually on re-purposed badminton courts.

So I’m not really compelled to go out and build any courts at all.
 
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Sudacafan said:
It’s quite irrelevant in my district. Hope it stays that way.
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Locals have not been inspired by Gabe T@rdio? Sad.

Note: his name is spelled with A not @ but for some reason the morons that run this site have censored his last name. I think the Govt of Bolivia should summon the US Ambassador to provide an explanation for this gross insult to Bolivia.
 
RSJfan said:
Locals have not been inspired by Gabe T@rdio? Sad.

Note: his name is spelled with A not @ but for some reason the morons that run this site have censored his last name. I think the Govt of Bolivia should summon the US Ambassador to provide an explanation for this gross insult to Bolivia.
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because of ret@rdio ;)
 
I’m happy to report that I’m not seeing pickleball on my present visit to Brasilia.

Most living complexes have tennis courts. Majority of private courts are red clay. Saw one in artificial grass. The public tennis center is hardcourt with sand beach volleyball courts outside. But pickleball is banished.

I have played tennis twice without any miserable background clatter. Only sun, trees, and tropical birds.
 
ByeByePoly said:
because of ret@rdio ;)
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RSJfan said:
Locals have not been inspired by Gabe T@rdio? Sad.

Note: his name is spelled with A not @ but for some reason the morons that run this site have censored his last name. I think the Govt of Bolivia should summon the US Ambassador to provide an explanation for this gross insult to Bolivia.
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The correct Spanish spelling is ****ío, i. e., with an acute accent on the i, eliminating its dot or tittle at the same time.
Therefore, ****ío is not pronounced as cardio or Mario, its pronounced as Rio (de Janeiro).
So, if you use the acute accent, which renders the correct spelling, you would bypass that obnoxious TTW feature.

N. B.: Río de Janeiro in Spanish, Rio de Janeiro in Portuguese. Different spelling rules.

Edit: I misspoke. TTW censors it regardless.
T a r d í o should be.
 
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sureshs said:
Not feasible in a spread-out city. Long drives and parking issues.
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if good free courts all over your city
…..praise the tennis gods (this was my experience in the 1980s in my 20s)
else
…..if smaller city
……….get city to at least maintain a public tennis center
…..else
……….get city to at least maintain public tennis centers


The friction point of city budgets and public tennis court usage happened before pickleball. If you have a beautiful well maintained park tennis court that gets used once a week (for tennis … skateboarders and throwing ball to dog doesn’t count) … do the math. During the 1980s I mentioned above, I played regularly at many free courts locations. Almost always full … often had to wait for a court to open. Those days are over … long before pickleball. It’s a tennis math problem before you even start talking about pickleball “taking courts”. Personally … I don’t think tennis and pickleball should ever share a space, particularly indoors (try playing indoor tennis when one of the 4 courts were converted to pickleball … that is some lame *** sh.!.t … but often occurring because tennis not generating enough numbers).

Perhaps pickleball is having it’s 1980s tennis free outdoor courts moment … but louder and more irritating. I have no interest in outdoor pickleball with 26g wiffle and wind … but then I have to remind myself without free outdoor courts I’m not sure if I would have ever started tennis.
 
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btw … regarding any pickleball decline yet … I have heard this:

The twin cities (Minneapolis and St Paul … 3.7 million) has over 30 indoor pickleball facilities.
 
ByeByePoly said:
btw … regarding any pickleball decline yet … I have heard this:

The twin cities (Minneapolis and St Paul … 3.7 million) has over 30 indoor pickleball facilities.
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As discussed, Pickleball’s explosion is driven by the elderly. So I imagine it will crest and then fall when the older demographic group starts to die off.
 
travlerajm said:
As discussed, Pickleball’s explosion is driven by the elderly. So I imagine it will crest and then fall when the older demographic group starts to die off.
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Yeah … you have a little problem there … those twin cities courts are filled with the non-elderly … not many old people like you.
 
Not in substantial decline here in North County San Diego. They've taken over tennis courts in multiple public parks and at one park where I play tennis, there are always people waiting to get on a pickleball court.
 
WildVolley said:
Not in substantial decline here in North County San Diego. They've taken over tennis courts in multiple public parks and at one park where I play tennis, there are always people waiting to get on a pickleball court.
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At least Padel is making inroads there to dilute it.
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
Reports of the demise of pickleball have been greatly exaggerated…

The “explosion” might be somewhat less logarithmic in some areas but it continues to be explosive nonetheless.

https://dilldinkers.com/blog/future-of-pickleball-insights-on-2026

pickleland.com

Pickleball Trends in 2025 and 2026: Explosive Growth

Pickleball Trends in 2025 and 2026: Explore explosive player growth, booming participation, and rapid court expansion shaping the future of the fastest-growing sport.
pickleland.com pickleland.com

www.dupr.com

DUPR Blog | National Sports' Day: Data Reveals How Pickleball is Taking Over America

Celebrate National Sports’ Day with the latest data on pickleball’s incredible growth in the United States. Learn how DUPR is helping 36.5 million players track progress and power the sport’s global rise.
www.dupr.com www.dupr.com
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These are biased organizations with a vested interest the growth of pickleball.
 
Cobaine said:
These are biased organizations with a vested interest the growth of pickleball.
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Perhaps so but from what I’ve seen in the SF Bay Area, it rings true —the trend remains strong and shows no signs of decline. Reminiscent of the popularity of tennis in the US in the 1970s. Still growing in this corner of the planet and seeing more younger players in their teens & 20s in addition to the 30-somethings thru thru the 60+ somethings I was seeing nearly a decade ago.

Ditto in SoCal, particularly in the greater LA and San Diego areas
 
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I've recently starting playing tennis (tennis racket, tennis balls, etc) on the pickleball courts, and it is so much more fun. Super intense, ball moves faster, and way less forgiving. You're constantly either at the net trying to finish the point with everything you have, or you're scrambling on defense. It's a game of speed, endurance, and touch. Of course, overhead serving would be absolutely broken in this game lol so we did underhand serves cross court like you would in pickleball. Surprisingly coming to the net isn't a cheat code if you implement a kitchen and a light speed rule (ie, no dunking overheads over the fence) since the court is so small. Way better sport, blows pickleball out of the park. Highly recommend.
 
MasterSlice74 said:
I've recently starting playing tennis (tennis racket, tennis balls, etc) on the pickleball courts, and it is so much more fun. Super intense, ball moves faster, and way less forgiving. You're constantly either at the net trying to finish the point with everything you have, or you're scrambling on defense. It's a game of speed, endurance, and touch. Of course, overhead serving would be absolutely broken in this game lol so we did underhand serves cross court like you would in pickleball. Surprisingly coming to the net isn't a cheat code if you implement a kitchen and a light speed rule (ie, no dunking overheads over the fence) since the court is so small. Way better sport, blows pickleball out of the park. Highly recommend.
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That’s almost mini tennis with the added feature of moving in to volley… The pickleball / badminton back line is 22 feet (6.7m) from the net whereas the back service line for tennis is 21 feet (6.4m) from the net. The net is nearly the same height (slightly lower for Pball).

Larger difference in the width tho. Pickleball and Badminton (Doubles) is 20 feet wide whereas the width of the 2 service boxes is a total of 27 feet (8.2m).

FYI. Note that the front line (short service line) for badminton is 6.5 feet from the net whereas the kitchen line (NVZ line) is 7 feet from the net. That kitchen line was moved back from the original 6.5 feet way back in 1966 or ‘67.
 
I play both. Having played tennis since 9 (I’m 41), I played PB for about eight months exclusively. It has an easy entry point; that is the appeal. A lot of beginner rec PB players who can hold a dinking rally would not be able to hold a rally in tennis. But 4.5+ PB is not trivial to achieve, even as a 4.5 tennis player. There’s technique and skill involved that doesn’t transfer from tennis, even though anyone with a decent tennis background will have a tremendous head start in PB. It’s not physically as demanding, but some things are harder, not kidding. For example, after playing PB, my reflexes became sharper, which caused my net game to improve in tennis. I’m back to primarily playing tennis, but when there’s nobody my level to play with, it’s almost guaranteed I can find PB players at the local courts and have a good time. I don’t see an imminent crash.
 
PistolPete23 said:
I play both. Having played tennis since 9 (I’m 41), I played PB for about eight months exclusively. It has an easy entry point; that is the appeal. A lot of beginner rec PB players who can hold a dinking rally would not be able to hold a rally in tennis. But 4.5+ PB is not trivial to achieve, even as a 4.5 tennis player. There’s technique and skill involved that doesn’t transfer from tennis, even though anyone with a decent tennis background will have a tremendous head start in PB. It’s not physically as demanding, but some things are harder, not kidding. For example, after playing PB, my reflexes became sharper, which caused my net game to improve in tennis. I’m back to primarily playing tennis, but when there’s nobody my level to play with, it’s almost guaranteed I can find PB players at the local courts and have a good time. I don’t see an imminent crash.
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With improved paddles and ball (Lifetime) high level tennis skills map quickly to pickleball singles. PPA singles in three years has pretty much ended cat and mouse kitchen tactics and become baseline tennis with well timed moving to kitchen for finishing volleys.

Not so much in pb doubles, your tennis strokes quit dictating wins and losses by good intermediate rec play. Doubles is still primarily a kitchen game (and transition area we call no man’s), particularly at pro level.

It’s actually amusing. Not many good tennis players would think they would immediately be great table tennis players, but do think that about pickleball. In doubles … you have months before you become one with pb doubles dark arts. :-D Also … pb doubles is often a game of targeting a particular opponent partner … way more than tennis. Let’s just say in some rec games you might hit very few balls, or all of them. :-D
 
ByeByePoly said:
With improved paddles and ball (Lifetime) high level tennis skills map quickly to pickleball singles. PPA singles in three years has pretty much ended cat and mouse kitchen tactics and become baseline tennis with well timed moving to kitchen for finishing volleys.

Not so much in pb doubles, your tennis strokes quit dictating wins and losses by good intermediate rec play. Doubles is still primarily a kitchen game (and transition area we call no man’s), particularly at pro level.

It’s actually amusing. Not many good tennis players would think they would immediately be great table tennis players, but do think that about pickleball. In doubles … you have months before you become one with pb doubles dark arts. :-D Also … pb doubles is often a game of targeting a particular opponent partner … way more than tennis. Let’s just say in some rec games you might hit very few balls, or all of them. :-D
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I would play more pb singles if I could, because it’s way more fun. But nobody wants to play me because the vast majority of doubles players I encounter, even good ones, have non-existent topspin backhands. I target their BHs all day, then move in for the kill.

Btw, still using a Gen 2 paddle. Don’t need the power and pop.
 
PistolPete23 said:
I would play more pb singles if I could, because it’s way more fun. But nobody wants to play me because the vast majority of doubles players I encounter, even good ones, have non-existent topspin backhands. I target their BHs all day, then move in for the kill.

Btw, still using a Gen 2 paddle. Don’t need the power and pop.
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PB doubles players can hide those sh.!.t backhands much more easily than tennis doubles. The underhand serve, no s&v and smaller court dimensions help the one wing bandits. :p

Also rally scoring works in their favor returning serve. Doubles is advantage to returning team … so in side-out scoring it is often worth the risk to aim near lines and corners. But in rally scoring … that serve that missed by an inch is a point for opponent.
 
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ByeByePoly said:
I don’t think paddles should be kept in same room as tennis rackets … sacrilegious.
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Problem is that I have so many rackets that every room has a few kicking about in there.

Not sure if you remember during lockdown I posted the kitchen tennis video using frying pans … bit of a giggle back in the day and not a lot else to do … but how prophetic was that. Here I am today literally playing in the kitchen with a paddle that sounds like my non stick wok hitting a Tretorn :laughing:
 
3loudboys said:
Problem is that I have so many rackets that every room has a few kicking about in there.

Not sure if you remember during lockdown I posted the kitchen tennis video using frying pans … bit of a giggle back in the day and not a lot else to do … but how prophetic was that. Here I am today literally playing in the kitchen with a paddle that sounds like my non stick wok hitting a Tretorn :laughing:
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Oh I remember … Wok elbow
 
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