Pickleball is on fire.
And that hasn’t escaped the eyes of superstar athletes in traditional sports, who are rapidly purchasing teams in Major League Pickleball.
Earlier this month, the football legend Tom Brady and tennis Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters took the plunge.
In September, it was the basketball icon LeBron James. Record-breaking former quarterback Drew Brees also is a team owner.
Pickleball, which resembles a combination of tennis, ping-pong and badminton, is currently all the rage. It grew the fastest of any sport in the U.S. from 2019-21.
Pickleball participation hit 4.8 million U.S. players last year, up 39% from 2019, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
Demographics, Easier Than Tennis
Looking at demographics, more than half (52%) of the people who play the sport seriously (eight or more times a year) were 55 and older in 2021, according to the USA Pickleball Association. But more than three-quarters (79%) of casual players were under 55.
One reason pickleball is so popular is that it’s easier to learn than tennis. “In tennis, the balls are all over the place,” Ernie Medina, a public health professor at Loma Linda University and pickleball coach told The New York Times.
“In pickleball, you’re hitting a plastic Wiffle-like ball, so it’s less bouncy and doesn’t fly as fast through the air. And the paddle is much easier to handle because it’s shorter and lighter than a tennis racket,” Medina said.
Bring on the NBA's Durant
As for the megastars in other sports, basketball stalwart Kevin Durant is joining the pickleball ownership party. He and his business partner, Rich Kleiman, are buying an expansion team through their Thirty Five Ventures.
“Thirty-Five V is committed to investing in the future of sports and emerging opportunities, and Major League Pickleball is a league we are incredibly excited about,” Kleiman said, adding that he and Durrant are avid pickleball players and fans.
Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Anne Worcester, the league's strategic adviser, has said team values are in the seven figures.
A video of Durant playing pickleball in September was quite popular on the Internet. In the footage, he says, “Getting the hang of it.”
Durant and Kleiman plan to bring the sport to underserved communities, “something they have done with basketball for years,” said MLP Chief Executive Steve Kuhn.
MLP and 35V will do that with pickleball through 35V’s “Build It and They Will Ball” initiative. That program has refurbished basketball courts in underserved communities around the world, Kuhn said.
