Does American Tennis Have a Pickleball Problem? Young Talent Boom Looms at US Open
NEW YORK — Does American Tennis Have a Pickleball Problem?
Even though the US Open open this week with over a million fans expected to attend the biggest showcase of sportThe game’s leaders are forced to confront a devastating fact: The fastest-growing racquet sport in the country (or any sport) is not tennis but pickleball, whose participation has increased 223 percent over the past three years.
“Frankly, it’s unpleasant to hear that pickleball noise,” grumbled U.S. Tennis Association President Dr. Brian Hainline at a recent state-of-the-game press conference, lamenting the distinctive sound of pickleball points.
Pickleball, an easy-to-play cross between tennis and ping-pong played with rackets and a tennis ball, has grown from almost nothing to 13.6 million players in the United States in just a few years, leading tennis purists to fear that it could one day surpass tennis’ 23.8 million players. And most worryingly, pickleball’s rise has often come at the expense of thousands of tennis courts being encroached upon or even replaced by smaller pickleball courts.
“When you see the explosion of a sport and it starts to potentially erode your sport, then, yes, you’re concerned,” Hainline said in an interview with The Associated Press. “That erosion has happened in our infrastructure. … A lot of pickleball advocates came out and said, ‘We need these tennis courts.’ It was a great organic grassroots movement, but it was a little anti-tennis.”
Some tennis governing bodies in other countries have embraced pickleball and other racquet sports in the belief that the more the merrier, and that they might attract more players to tennis. The French Tennis Federation They even installed a few pickleball courts at this year’s French Open to give top players and fans a chance to try it out.
But the USTA has taken a decidedly different approach. Nowhere at the U.S. Open’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center are there demonstration courts, exhibition matches or any other nod to pickleball or its potential for cross-curricular appeal.
In fact, the USTA is turning pickleball’s fortunes on their head with an ambitious launch of more than 400 pilot programs across the country to expand the reach of an easier-to-play, smaller-court version of tennis called “Red ball tennis.” Proponents say it’s the perfect way for people of all ages to get started with tennis, and the best place to try it is (wait for it) pickleball courts.
“You can start playing tennis at any age,” the USTA’s Hainline said. “We think when you’re starting out in this great sport of tennis, it’s probably best to start on a shorter court with a larger, lower-compression red ball. What’s the ideal short court? A pickleball court.”
And instead of the plastic smack of a pickleball against a flat paddle, Hainline said, hitting a fuzzy red tennis ball with a stringed paddle allows for more shot variety and “a beautiful sound.” Players can either stick with red-ball tennis or work their way up through a progression of bouncier balls to full-court tennis.
“Not to put it down,” Hainline said of pickleball, “but compared to tennis… seriously?”
So what does the head of the country’s pickleball governing body have to say about such comments and the tennis major’s plans to plant the seeds of its growth, at least in part, on the pickleball courts?
“I don’t like it, but there’s so much going on with pickleball, so much good stuff, I’m going to stick with what I can control and harness the growth and support this game,” said Mike Nealy, CEO of Pickleball USA.
Among the positive signs, Nealy said, are the continued construction of new pickleball courts across the country, bringing the total to more than 50,000. There is also growing investment in the game through clubs built in former big-box stores, professional leagues with sponsors such as Tom Brady, LeBron James and Drake, and the emergence of “dink-and-drink” establishments that tap into the social aspect of the game by allowing friends to enjoy pickleball, beer, wine and food under the same roof.
“I don’t think it’s an either/or or competition,” Nealy said of pickleball and tennis. “There’s definitely going to be inherent friction in communities when tennis players don’t feel like they’re getting what they want.”[…]They are different games, but I think they complement each other. Both sports have a lot of potential to succeed.”
Taylor Fritz, a top American tennis player, agrees: “There are people in the tennis world who hate pickleball, and that’s okay. But for me, I don’t really have a problem with pickleball. I like to play sometimes.[…]I don’t see why both couldn’t exist.”
The relative health of tennis and pickleball is calculated by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, a market research group whose annual survey of 18,000 Americans about their physical activity preferences has been widely cited for decades.
While the group’s president and CEO, Tom Cove, declined to comment on whether or when pickleball could overtake tennis, he said the boom in American pickleball is unlike anything his organization has ever seen and that several key statistics suggest it could be poised to continue.
For starters, while pickleball’s initial growth was fueled during the coronavirus pandemic by retirees looking for a way to exercise while social distancing and limiting environmental impact, growth is now being driven by those ages 18 to 34, with one million new players ages 17 and under added in the past year. Additionally, of the 13.6 million current pickleball participants in the SFIA survey, the top number, those who play eight or more times a year, is 4.8 million.
But perhaps most importantly, pickleball has virtually no barriers to entry, Cove said. The equipment is relatively inexpensive, the game can be played almost anywhere, even in a driveway, and it takes almost no time to start hosting meaningful games with players of all ages and skill levels. That’s unlike almost any other sport, including tennis, which can often take months of practice to learn, is physically demanding and requires finding players of similar skill levels to play competitive matches.
“Pickleball has the ability to be fun early on,” Cove said. “People pick up on it and after a couple of times, they’re like, ‘I like playing. It’s fun and I can do it.’ There’s enough competition, but not too much. There’s enough skill, but not too much. There’s enough urgency, but it doesn’t make me feel like I’m going to fall. And I like the social aspect.”
The USTA is looking to capture some of that mood as it plans for the future of tennis. The game has just grown 10% over the past three years, according to the SFIA survey, and the USTA aims to grow its membership from 23.8 million to 35 million players, or about 1 in 10 Americans, by 2035.
Building that foundation starts with outreach, like a special “Red Ball” demonstration court set up next to Court 17 at Flushing Meadows. A game that was once used almost exclusively to introduce children to tennis is now being promoted to adult fans of the U.S. Open, the same people who now flock to pickleball.
“I have to say I prefer this game to pickleball,” said Angelique Santiago, 27, of Boston, after her first-ever red-ball session. “The ball is softer than hard pickleball. The tennis racket has a softer feel. It’s easier to get into a rally. … I would definitely play it again.”
Such comments are music to the ears of the USTA’s Hainline, who says comparing tennis to pickleball in terms of skill, nuance and athleticism is “like comparing apples to potatoes.”
“We want to present another option,” he said, “and let people choose.”
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AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report.
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