PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pickleball is everywhere!
Celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Leonardo DiCaprio are playing it, while athletes like Tom Brady are investing in the sport.
In 2023, pickleball participation almost doubled from last year, with a total of 8.9 million players in the United States over the age of six years old, USA Pickleball reported. There are about 10 courts in Philadelphia, with a new indoor court, Bounce, set to open in June in Malvern. Many people say they like the sport because it's easy to get into, it’s social and it’s fun.
Stephen Conger is the USA Pickleball regional director for the North Mid-Atlantic region. He started playing pickleball six years ago, but was apprehensive about it at first.
“I was playing tennis with three other soccer dads, two of them were terrible, they couldn’t even serve,” he said. “So one of them suggested pickleball. I said, ‘That’s a stupid name, I’ll never play it’ … within a couple of points, I’m like ‘This is way better,’ and I haven’t played an actual tennis game since.”
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Many people who play pickleball have played racket sports in the past. Marni Ehrlich, 49, was a tennis player, and after a friend suggested she play pickleball, she was immediately hooked.
“It’s quite social, especially in doubles,” Ehrlich said. There’s four people on the court and you can kind of chat during the play, and you’re closer together, so it’s easier to chat than like, let’s say a tennis court.”.
Ehrlich plays at Seger Park in Center City with a group that meets three times a week – Saturday nights are for beginners, while Sundays and Wednesdays are for more advanced players.
Laurie Metzler, 24, started playing pickleball in 2021 with her parents. She, like many others, was apprehensive at first, but quickly came to love the sport.
“It’s a good sport that you can play with all ages,” Metzler said. “There’s not many sports that my parents as well as my athletic, younger brother, all of us can play and it's competitive, it’d be an even game.”
Even though there are so many people interested in the game, there’s not enough courts to meet demand.
Andrew Freedman is the Philadelphia Ambassador for USA Pickleball. He organizes meetups and works with city parks to set up courts. He says for the Seger Park meetup, sign up sheets fill up within five minutes, in other places, within seconds.
“It’s a social game, a fun game, an easy to learn game that so many people enjoy and can’t get enough of,” Freedman said. “I just wish someone could build more courts.”
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A lot of people agree with Freedman. Braden Keith plays at Seger and has a huge role in the city’s pickleball community. He’s helping open Bounce, the indoor court in Malvern, and believes expanding pickleball courts would benefit the city.
“If those courts get built, there are people like Andrew, Stephen, and myself that will come and create programs that meet the city government’s needs, in terms of engaging youth and low-cost organized sports,” Keith said. "There's all kinds of great things that can come from it.”
You can find a pickleball meetup near you or look for lessons in the Philadelphia Pickleball Facebook group.
Hear more about the history of pickleball and how to play on The Jawncast. Listen in the player below, the Audacy app, or wherever you get podcasts.