Popularity of Pickleball Grows in North Texas, Attracting All Generations

Chances are pretty good that you or someone in your family relishes pickleball.

It's considered one of the fastest growing sports in America. Between 2019 and 2020, pickleball’s participation and popularity rose 213% with 4.2 million Americans now playing the sport. And we're seeing that growth in North Texas.

"It's growing all around and Dallas-Fort Worth is no exception," said Rachel Simon, author of Pickleball for All, a new book out Tuesday that provides a primer for any level of player interested in the wild history, unique rules, and exciting future of pickleball.

Simon got hooked on pickleball in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. She and her now husband picked it up and played with his family to get them out of the house.

Two months later, she wrote an article about it for the New York Times wondering if pickleball was the perfect pandemic pastime.

"People seemed really interested in it. That it got me to thinking, gee, this is a sport that clearly has such a massive fan base with players all over the world, why isn't this getting talked about? So over the last few years, I've written many more articles about pickleball and interviewed players of all backgrounds to get a sense of what is it about pickleball that people love so much and where they see it going? And that led to the creation of my book, Pickleball for All, which really dives into not only the history of the sport and its growth over time but looks at the wider pickleball community and how passionate people are about it," Simon said.

That passion is found in North Texas.

Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch converted some of its tennis courts into pickleball courts. It also has a certified pickleball instructor on staff.

A pickleball court fills up a backyard in Dallas. Jan Osborn loves the sport so much, she built a court so she can play anytime.

Dallas Parks and Rec offers several sites throughout the city where picklers can paddle at it.

Kansas City, Missouri-based Chicken N Pickle brought its pickleball courts and food to Grand Prairie and will open in Grapevine later this year.

Fort Worth has a similar concept with Courtside Kitchen.

Retirement community Robson Ranch in Denton has a pickleball club.

"Not only is it physically fun to do but you get to meet people. The community is so big that you meet people from all different backgrounds and become friends with these people," Simon said. "For my book, I met so many people who met their future spouses through pickleball, made best friends through pickleball, things like that. In addition to being fun, it's accessible. There's very low barriers to entry. And while it takes a lot of practice to get very good at it, there are people who play professionally that are very, very skilled, for the average player you can learn the basics very quickly and get the hang of it."

Pickleball started as a game for children. Three dads on summer vacation to Bainbridge Island, Washington invented it in 1965 after their kids got bored with their normal summertime activities. While kids were the first to play the game that combines badminton, tennis and ping pong, it's earned a reputation, an unfair one perhaps, as a game for older adults.

"That's a misconception a lot of people have about it," Simon said. "Early on, back in the 60s, 70s and 80s and so on, the majority of players were over 50 or over 60. And while there is a huge amount of players in that demographic, pickleball players also consist of millennials, Gen Zers, younger people. I think 18-35 is the fastest growing age group of pickleball players the last few years."

More than two years after picking up the game, Simon still grabs a paddle and relishes pickleball.

"It's a really fun surprise and I'm very grateful to have it in my life," she said. "And it's been so fun seeing all the opportunities that have come from it."