Does American tennis have a pickleball problem? Upstart’s boom looms out of view at the US Open

NEW YORK — Does American tennis have a pickleball problem?

Even as the US Open opened this week with over a million expected fans for the sport’s biggest showcasethe sport’s leaders are confronted with a devastating fact: the fastest-growing racquet sport (or any sport) in the country is not tennis, but pickleball, which has seen a 223% increase in participation over the past three years.

“Honestly, it’s annoying to hear that pickleball sound,” U.S. Tennis Federation President Dr. Brian Hainline groaned at a recent state-of-the-art press conference, lamenting the trademark pock, pock, pock of pickleball points.

Pickleball, an easy-to-play hybrid of tennis and ping-pong involving paddles and a wiffle ball, has grown rapidly from virtually nothing to 13.6 million American players in just a few years, leading tennis purists to fear it will surpass the 23.8 million tennis players currently playing. Most disturbingly, pickleball’s rise has often come at the cost of thousands of tennis courts being taken over or even replaced with smaller pickleball courts.

“When you see an explosion of a sport and it starts to erode potential in your sport, then, yes, you’re concerned,” Hainline said in an interview with The Associated Press. “That erosion has occurred in our infrastructure. … A lot of pickleball advocates just came in and said, ‘We need these courts.’ It was a great, organic, grassroots movement, but it was a little bit anti-tennis.”

Some tennis federations in other countries have embraced pickleball and other racquet sports in the belief that the more the merrier, the more players it could bring to the motherland of tennis. The French Tennis Federation even installed a few pickleball courts at Roland Garros this year, to give top players and fans the chance to try it out.

But the USTA has taken a decidedly different approach. Nowhere in the US Open’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is there such a demonstration court, an exhibition match or any other nod to pickleball or its potential crossover appeal.

The USTA is changing the script on pickleball 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 “pickleball.” “red ball tennis.” Proponents say it’s the ideal way for people of all ages to get into tennis. And the best place to try it is (wait for it) on pickleball courts.

“You can start playing tennis at any age,” the USTA’s Hainline said. “We believe that when you start playing this great sport, tennis, it’s probably best to start on a shorter court with a larger, red ball with low compression. What’s an ideal short court? A pickleball court.”

And instead of the plastic squeak of a pickleball against a flat paddle, Hainline said, hitting a furry red tennis ball with a strung racket allows for a greater variety of strokes and “just a beautiful sound.” Players can stick with red-ball tennis or progress through a progression from bouncing balls to full-court tennis.

“Not to put it down,” Hainline said of pickleball, “but compared to tennis… seriously?”

What does the president of the national pickleball government say about such comments and the major tennis club’s plans to lay the foundation for their growth, at least in part, on pickleball courts?

“I hate it, but there’s so much going on with pickleball, so much good stuff, I’m going to do what I can control, capitalize on the growth and support this sport,” 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 increasing investment in the game with clubs built in former shopping malls, professional leagues with sponsors like Tom Brady, LeBron James and Drake, and the rise of “dink-and-drink” establishments that capitalize on the social aspect of the game by bringing friends together to enjoy pickleball, beer, wine and food under the same roof.

“I don’t think it has to be one or the other or a competition,” Nealy said of pickleball and tennis. “You’re definitely going to have inherent friction in communities if tennis people don’t feel like they’re getting what they want. … They’re different games, but I think they complement each other. There’s plenty of room for both sports to be very successful.”

American tennis star Taylor Fritz agreed. “There are people in tennis who just absolutely hate pickleball, and that’s fine. But I don’t really have a problem with pickleball. I like to play it sometimes. … I don’t see any reason why they can’t both exist.”

The relative health of tennis and pickleball is calculated by the Sport & The Fitness Industry Association, a market research group that annually surveys 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 speculate on whether or when pickleball could take over tennis, he did say the U.S. pickleball boom is unlike anything his organization has ever seen. Several key metrics suggest the sport is poised to continue.

For starters, while pickleball’s initial growth was fueled during the coronavirus pandemic by retirees looking for a socially distanced, low-impact way to get some exercise, growth is now being driven by the 18-34 age group, with one million new players aged 17 and under added last year. Also, of the current 13.6 million pickleball participants in the SFIA survey, the core number, those who play eight or more times per year, is a robust 4.8 million.

But perhaps more important than any statistic, Cove said, is that pickleball has virtually no barriers to entry. Equipment is relatively inexpensive, the game can be played almost anywhere, even in a driveway, and it takes almost no time to play meaningful matches with players of all ages and skill levels. That’s unlike almost any other sport, including tennis, which can take months of practice to learn, can be physically demanding and requires finding players of similar skill levels to play competitively.

“Pickleball has a unique ability to be fun very early on,” Cove said. “People figure it out pretty quickly and after one or two times, they say, ‘I like playing this. It’s fun and I can do this. There’s enough competition, but not too much. There’s enough skill, but not too much. There’s enough urgency, but I don’t feel like I’m going to fall. And I like the social aspect.'”

The USTA is trying to capture some of that vibe as it charts the future of tennis. The sport has grown by 10 percent over the past three years, according to SFIA research, and the USTA aims to grow its ranks from 23.8 million to 35 million players — about 1 in 10 of all Americans — by 2035.

Building that foundation starts with outreach, like a special “red ball” demonstration court set up next to Stadium Court 17 in Flushing Meadows. A game once used almost exclusively to introduce tennis to kids 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 like it better than pickleball,” said Angelique Santiago, 27, of Boston, after her first-ever session of red-ball. “The ball is softer compared to the hard pickleball. The tennis racket feels softer. It’s just easier to 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 reporter Howard Fendrich contributed.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis