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It looks like the tennis wars are getting worse.
Related video: Tennis player confrontation vandalized Needham pickleball nets (WCVB Boston).
People often say that the sport is a mix of tennis and ping pong. In the last few years, it has become very famous. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association says that nearly 9 million Americans now play the game. This is a rise of 85.7% from last year. Federal COVID-19 money is being used by many U.S. towns to build tennis courts. And just recently, the Wichita City Council decided to spend more than $6 million on a pickleball center.
Players are also spending money to do what they love. One study report says that the global market for pickleball gear is now worth nearly $66 billion. In the next few years, it is projected to grow to $155 billion.
But all this excitement is also making a lot of fights and arguments about where people can play. In the latest case, tennis players and pickleball players are fighting over court space in Needham, Massachusetts. Since the fight started, attackers have broken or thrown away pickleball nets.
And the people who play pickleball think that the people who play tennis are to blame.
In an interview with a Boston TV station, pickleball player Lisa Rhoades said, “We were more than happy to live with tennis players and share the facilities as needed. But someone had this anger inside them and took it out on us.”
There have been reports of other troubles and fights in other places. In Falmouth, Massachusetts, for example, some neighbors filed a public-nuisance lawsuit because of “injurious and obnoxious noise levels” caused by pickleball. For example, solid paddles hitting plastic balls over and over again makes a racket.
Rob Mastroianni, who lives in Falmouth, told The Wall Street Journal, “No one can fully understand what it’s like to sit on your back deck and hear that pop, pop, pop.”
In New York City, people who play pickleball have been accused of taking up valuable playground room that kids usually use. One local parent told the Gothamist website, “It’s not a coexistence, it’s a complete and utter takeover.”
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association says that nearly 9 million Americans now play pickleball, which is a rise of 85.7% from last year.
The truth is that you can play pickleball pretty much anywhere. There are now a lot of courts at Walt Disney World. A business in New York called CityPickle just opened a location at the famous Wollman Rink in Central Park.
A representative from CityPickle said that the company’s goal is to offer courts that can be booked in busy cities. Then, the problems that have happened when people play pickleball in places like parks where other people also play are less likely to happen, the spokesperson said.
Professional pickleball is also becoming more popular. There’s Major League Pickleball, which started in 2021. Big names like Tom Brady and LeBron James own franchises in the league.
What comes next? Pickleball as a sport in the Olympics? Yes, that too has been talked about.
Pickleball seems to be popular because it can be played by both young and old people and by people with different levels of skill. Even though billions of dollars have been spent on tools, the sport is still a cheap hobby. A basic starter set for two can cost less than $100.
So, there may be a lot of local pickleball disputes, but experts think the sport will continue to grow.
“Pickleball is not a country-club sport,” said Richard Porter, head of InPickleball, a magazine and website that covers the sport. It’s a game for everyone.”
