On the 11-mile tennis courts, a bright green ball gets hit back and forth until someone misses their shot. Sounds of laughter, joy, and competitiveness fills the air. Pop. Clack. Pop. On a hot summer day, my grandma and I wanted to play a game of tennis. When we got there, the courts were filled up with nowhere to go. The surprising thing was the courts weren’t filled with tennis players, they were filled with pickleball players also known as “picklers”.
I started to pay attention to this every time I would drive past the courts. All I would see is people with small carbon fiber paddles hitting what looks like a wiffleball. Rarely would I see people playing tennis. This surprised me because there isn’t a pickleball team at BHS, but there is a tennis team. I don’t know about any pickleball lessons, but I do know about tennis lessons. For some reason, I still see more picklers than tennis players. So I started to ask myself, “Is pickleball taking over tennis?”.
In 1965, Joel Pritchard, a successful businessman, created the game of pickleball as a fun way of connecting with his family. Little did he know that 58 years later, this game would explode into one of the fastest growing sports in America.
According to utrsports.net, In 2021, tennis had a steady lead in popularity over pickleball. But from 2022 to 2023, the amount of pickleball players skyrocketed surpassing tennis.
One of the main groups picking up the sport has been people ages 18 to 24 for more casual play, and the hard core players of pickleball are 65 and up . Pickleball has been a great resource for older people who don’t have the physical ability to play tennis. As we know, tennis is a sport that many people would play when they got older and couldn’t play contact sports or physically taxing sports. Now, as pickleball has grown, older people find it much easier to play than tennis because it is a much smaller court, the racket and ball are lighter, and it still is a good workout for someone who plays at a moderately intense level.
Sam Subia, the Berkley Varsity Tennis Coach, who feels the rise of pickleball is due to the easy access, says “You can buy a pickleball net, and play it anywhere, as long as you have painters tape, but with tennis you need a physical court.” Pickleball is a much cheaper game; you can buy a cheap paddle for 50 dollars and still get the same enjoyment. With a tennis racket you need to spend a couple hundred dollars to get a good racket. This is partially why some people get interested in pickleball. They realize they can play it in their backyard or driveway right outside their house, instead of going to a tennis court a few miles away.
Coach Subia also says that many are picking up the sport because it is easier to play. “Pickleball has grown a lot because tennis takes a long time to get good at,” Coach Subia says, Subia said.
As Coach Subia said, tennis is a sport that takes a lot of time and hard work, while pickleball is an easier game to learn and master. Subia said he puts so much time and effort into tennis, and thinks that if you want to get good at tennis you have to put the time and effort into it. With pickleball, it can be easier to get good at if you have the certain natural traits that the game requires such as athleticism, hand-eye coordination, reaction time, etc.
Simon Babcock, a J.V tennis player for Berkley, thinks that tennis is the best sport that anyone can play. “(pickleball) You don’t move as much, it’s more boring, and it’s easier.” Simon plays pickleball with friends sometimes, but would never choose it over tennis.
Evan Weber, a varsity tennis player for Berkley thinks differently saying, “ It’s (pickleball) fun and you don’t have to move as much.” Evan is a freshman on varsity, and he has been dedicated to tennis since he was 7 years old. He really enjoys tennis, but he also thinks pickleball is just as fun, and doesn’t really care about which one he plays.
Tennis is a sport that people dedicate their time to, and pickleball is more of a casual activity, but whether you are holding a tennis racket, or pickleball paddle, both sports offer a fun and active way to stay engaged, and it seems there’s room for both to thrive.
