Children are a fast-growing demographic in pickleball, according to a new SFIA report. Photo © Chad Robertson | Dreamstime.com
Off the charts. That’s one way to describe the data found in Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s report on pickleball. The report, 2025 Single Sport Report-Pickleball, is now available from SFIA.
The Pickleball Single Sport Report, released last week due to high demand, provides a deep dive into participant data for the fastest growing sport in the U.S. This is the fourth consecutive year pickleball has held that title, having seen a 45.8% increase from the 2023 figure and an incredible 311% increase from three years ago.
The demographics of the sport have also continued to change. Male players make up 58.6 of pickleball’s playing population, as compared to women (41.4 percent). Within the youth (under 18) player group, the largest is ages six through 12 (11.2 percent), followed by 13-17 at 9.2 percent.
Want a big shock? The biggest percentage of players in the sport is that in the age group of 25 to 34, bearing out the information from The Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP), which noted that pickleball is skewing considerably younger than previously assumed. In fact, at a recent Minto US OPEN Pickleball Championships held in Naples, Florida, the players ranged from a high of 88 to a low of nine.
The popularity of pickleball has led to a demand for more courts, said SFIA since, at this point, the sport’s growth is outpacing its facilities. What seems to be in doubt: Whether there are enough courts to keep up with the demand. Sportico, in fact, says a $900 million investment needs to be made nationwide to build those venues.
According to the SFIA and their partner, Pickleheads, some regions in particular really are not keeping up with the demand for courts. The states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, for example, have only about one dedicated court per 1,000 participants. (A dedicated court means one that is not shared with another sport, like tennis, volleyball or basketball.)
Much ink has already been spread on the animosity aimed at pickleball players who take over other sport spaces. Part of the complaints include the noise of the paddle hitting the ball; the good news is that USA Pickleball is incorporating a “quiet products” category to lower not just the decibel level of the game, but the pitch of the sound.
One trend that has arisen has been that of the conversion of vacant big-box stores into what have become known as “picklemalls,” which are indoor clubs run through franchise operations. In fact, Athletic Business recently reported that Pickleball Club of Georgia is preparing to start converting an empty warehouse in Blandtown into more than 100,000 square feet of pickleball playing courts and more soon; designers say this will be the largest indoor pickleball complex in the country.
Additionally,says a report by The Dyrt, pickleball courts are now the most popular amenity at campgrounds, even outstripping the popularity of Wi-Fi. Let's repeat that in case someone missed it: Pickleball is more popular than Wi-Fi.
But back to the insights in the SFIA’s report. Pickleball participants are most likely to cross-train with sports like weight training, hiking and yoga. Other fitness regimens included treadmill use, running camping, walking for fitness – and tennis.
In addition to the Pickleball Report, 24 reports from the Team Sports Category are now available. The category continued its momentum in 2024 as it experienced significant increases in participation, with 20 out of 24 team sports SFIA tracks increasing their participation levels from 2023.
All 91 Single Sport reports, along with the Fitness category, are now available. Each report includes data on participation as defined by gender, participation frequency, age, geographic region, market size area, income, education level, cross-sport/activity participation and ethnicity.
“The latest Single Sport Reports offer detailed, actionable data and valuable insights into sports participation trends across various demographics,” said Alex Kerman, Senior Director and Head of Research, SFIA. “With pickleball continuing its meteoric rise and with eight of the team sports SFIA tracks increasing participation by over 7% in 2024, this data helps industry
All reports are available for purchase through SFIA at this link.
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