Recently, The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson asked whether pickleball might just be “the racquetball of our time”—a sport destined to spike, irritate the neighbors, and fade into memory. His essay painted pickleball as a metaphor for American restlessness: a little noisy, a little addictive, and probably temporary.

Thompson captured a real tension, between pickleball’s joyful chaos and the cultural fatigue with anything “trending.” He framed it as a parable about American impatience: how we chase new hobbies until they become clichés. It’s a fair question. But pickleball isn’t another Peloton. It’s not about chasing novelty; it’s about rediscovering something timeless: play.

Pickleball isn’t another fitness cycle. It’s the future of play—powered by purpose, inclusion, and a design so smart it’s practically inevitable.

The Year Everything Changed

Before 2021, pickleball was a lovable oddball, quietly growing. Then something clicked. Participation didn’t just rise—it exploded.

The spark? Steve Kuhn. The man who built Major League Pickleball (MLP) and DUPR (the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating) lit the fuse that changed everything. Together, they did for pickleball what television once did for football: turned a pastime into an ecosystem.

Steve Kuhn and Team Malaysia at the PCL Asia Season 1 Grand Finale

DUPR gave pickleball what racquetball never had—a universal language for skill. A player in Manila could finally see how they stacked up against one in Miami. Ratings gave players identity. Recreation became a reputation.

Then came MLP: electric, team-based, made-for-TV energy. Kuhn’s next move was pure magic: he brought in LeBron James, Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Patrick Mahomes, and other sports icons—not as sponsors, but as owners.

When the GOATs buy in, the world pays attention. A tidal wave of attention later, pickleball wasn’t just a sport; it was a movement.

But the real story isn’t about billionaires or broadcast deals; it’s about volunteers lining courts at sunrise, rec directors painting extra lines on cracked tennis courts, and neighborhood ambassadors handing out paddles to anyone curious enough to try. Behind every viral clip is a community turning public parks into places of belonging.

The Economics of Common Sense

Even without the flash, pickleball just makes sense.

A tennis court serves two or four players. Convert it to four pickleball courts, and suddenly you’ve got 12 to 16 people laughing, sweating, and paying. It’s more play per square foot, lower maintenance, and higher community engagement.

Thompson suggested the sport’s boom might collapse under its own noise—too many courts, too much hype. But what he missed is the math: this isn’t a fitness bubble; it’s a participation engine. When a city converts one tennis court into four pickleball courts and triples its community engagement, that’s not fad economics; that’s efficiency.

Economists call it a triple win: for public health, for cities, and for connection. Pickleball costs pennies compared with building new gyms or ballfields, yet it delivers measurable gains in physical activity, mental health, and social inclusion, especially for older adults, beginners, and people priced out of traditional fitness culture.

Cities love it. Parks and clubs do too. When your lines are painted on public land, you’re not a trend; you’re infrastructure.

The Global Game

And this isn’t just an American story anymore.

Across Asia, pickleball is erupting—from youth tournaments in India and senior leagues in Japan to beach courts in Malaysia and rooftop gyms in Vietnam and the Philippines. According to the State of Play in Asia report, more than 812 million people in Asia have tried pickleball, and 282 million play monthly. Analysts project the Asia-Pacific market to grow at a record pace through 2029, making it the sport’s fastest-rising frontier.

In Malaysia alone, more than 300 clubs are registered on DUPR, and Kuala Lumpur now ranks second in the world—behind only Austin, Texas—for new DUPR players. In India, participation has surged past 50,000 players in just the past 18 months, supported by more than 500 courts and dozens of regional leagues.

Leaders like Steve Kuhn are helping accelerate the boom, but so are thousands of organizers, teachers, and park directors introducing the game in schools and communities across the region. What began as an American pastime is now a global export—a bridge connecting people across languages and borders through the simplest of tools: a paddle, a ball, and a sense of belonging.

The Public Bet

And the surge isn’t limited to Asia. Back home, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association reports that U.S. pickleball participation has grown by 223 percent since 2020, reaching 13.6 million players in 2024—making it the fastest-growing sport in America for three straight years. Globally, analysts project more than 40 million players by 2030.

So here’s the wager:

Will global pickleball participation decline in any year between now and 2030?

If yes, maybe it’s a fad. But if the numbers keep climbing—even slowly—that’s proof of permanence.

We like our odds.

The Family Factor

At Empower Pickleball, we see what the data can’t measure: the smiles, the stories, the social magic.

Parents, kids, and grandparents sharing courts. Teenagers teaching retirees how to dink. CEOs and delivery drivers laughing mid-rally.

Pickleball is the rare sport where everyone starts equal—and everyone belongs. It’s easy to learn, hard to master, and built for connection.

The Future of Play

So, no, pickleball isn’t racquetball. It isn’t tennis. It isn’t a rebellion against either. It’s something entirely new:

Accessible to every age and ability.
Measurable through a universal system.
Economically smart for communities.
Culturally magnetic across the globe.

That’s not a passing craze. That’s evolution.

Why It’s Here to Stay

Thompson saw in pickleball a kind of cultural restlessness, a country always searching for the next distraction. What he might not have realized is that pickleball is the opposite of distraction. It’s attention, embodied. It’s people showing up in person, putting the phone down, and saying, “Your serve.”

Pickleball isn’t booming because it’s trendy. It’s booming because it’s human. In an age when so much of life happens through screens, pickleball gives people a place to be face-to-face again—laughing, sweating, competing, connecting.

It’s the most democratic sport ever designed: inexpensive to start, easy to learn, and instantly social. It scales up in cities and down in driveways. It bridges generations, abilities, and cultures with almost no barriers to entry.

The reason it’s here to stay isn’t celebrity investors or viral clips. It’s because the world needs it. It’s recreation redesigned for a disconnected era—a game that rewards presence, joy, and community.

Pickleball isn’t a fad. It’s the antidote to loneliness. And that’s not going out of style anytime soon.

Kim Bastien is the founder and CEO of Empower Pickleball, a media and community platform dedicated to inclusive play and purpose-driven storytelling in the sport. She writes about the intersection of culture, community, and innovation in pickleball across the U.S. and Worldwide.

Pickleball Isn’t a Fad. It’s the Smartest Thing in Sports