REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO: A new media report revealed that more than 26,000 tennis courts have been modified into pickleball courts in the US.
Pickleball has long been viewed as a threat to tennis’ popularity in the United States of America (USA). But to what extent? Though previous research and studies were conducted on the trend of tennis players switching to pickleball, or on old, unused tennis courts being refurbished to create pickleball courts, it was not known exactly how many courts had been converted into pickleball facilities.
A New York Times report revealed that more than 26,000 tennis courts have been modified into pickleball courts. The respected media organisation said it had analysed more than 100,000 aerial photos to confirm the trend. Pickleball courts are, in fact, taking over real estate across the country, often at the cost of existing tennis courts.
“We were able to identify more than 26,000 outdoor pickleball courts made in the last seven years – a majority of them at the expense of once-exclusive tennis spaces and created since the onset of the pandemic in 2020,” said Ethan Singer, the NYT reporter who conducted the aerial survey.
Despite the expensive attempt to analyse the trend, it remains not the most comprehensive analysis of US pickleball participation.
“By trade group estimates, there are more than 270,000 tennis courts – and now 68,000 pickleball courts – in the United States, including indoor courts that we were not able to track,” said Singer.
Tracking every pickleball court may not be possible. Despite the challenges, pickleball’s growth remains irrefutable. Since the Covid-19 pandemic ceased, pickleball has recorded exceptional growth across America.
While the claim is startling, there are close to 50,000 outdoor courts spread across America and a total closer to 75,000.