It wasn’t until the Covid era when the paddle sport really ratcheted up in earnest. Since then, as pickleball’s grown into a bonafide passion for millions of people — rather than a faddy pandemic pastime (looking at you, breadmaking and online yoga) — page views on the sport’s Wikipedia page have soared, as curious players look up the rules, the sport’s history and why on Earth it’s called pickleball (nothing to do with pickles and everything to do with… rowing). Hits to the Wikipedia page even surpassed those of tennis in 2020, according to data from Pageviews.
Brokeback
Although the game can be enjoyed by all ages, pickleball is not without its risks. As its popularity has skyrocketed, so too have pickleball-related injuries: the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recently reported that bone fractures resulting from pickleball have increased 90x over the last 20 years, the majority of which resulted from falls in the 60-69 age group.
That may put a strain on doctors in Utah, Arizona, Minnesota and Florida, where data from Google Trends reveals search interest in pickleball has been the highest over the past 12 months.
Big pickle
It’s fair to say that the Super Bowl isn’t under threat as the jewel in corporate America’s sporting crown, but pickleball is increasingly big business. Manufacturers of pickleball equipment are selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of paddles, shoes and apparel every year, while developers are eyeing up unused retail space, spending millions to convert them into prestige pickleball playing spaces around the country.
As the pro scene begins to take off, a battle for pickle supremacy has been quietly taking place between rival leagues. Last September two of the biggest — Major League Pickleball and the PPA Tour — announced a merger, with private equity investors injecting $50m into the combined venture.
Although prize funds at most pro events remain relatively small, top players can reportedly make 7 figures from sponsorship deals, prize money and appearance fees.
Love it or hate it, we haven’t had peak pickleball yet.
