Justin Staggers
Managing Editor
It’s like tennis, but also not like tennis. The courts are smaller, the balls are plastic, and it is played much more casually.
Pickleball has taken the mainstream sporting world by storm over the past few years, with participation having grown 51.8% from 2022 to 2023, and an astonishing 224% since 2020. Even Millersville University has joined in on the craze, designating an area inside of the campus recreation center for the emerging sport to be played.
But why? Is the hype sustainable? Or is it another fad destined to eventually fade away into irrelevance?
Before delving any deeper into this topic, I think it is important to address that I do recognize the health benefits of the game. It is an approachable sport that people of all ages can participate in for exercise. But if I’m being honest, I never understood the hype surrounding the game itself. There’s one issue about my opinion – I’ve never actually played pickleball.
In order to have a proper opinion about the game, I set off to my nearest Dick’s Sporting Goods to invest in some basic equipment. My purchase included two black and red Franklin paddles, as well as the balls that were included with it.
On Saturday afternoon I rounded up a few of my friends who were also new to the game and wanted to give it a try. It didn’t take long before we were able to rally back and forth with one another, attempting to learn the rules as we went. The game itself is much more casual than its often-compared counterpart in tennis but still has a similar feel. As expected, it was a great source of exercise, and by the end of our two-hour session, I was exhausted.
Admittedly, the game was much more fun than I anticipated it to be, but I still don’t know if I myself am ready to join in on the craze. On one hand yes, it was a fun and approachable sport to learn, but it’s also much less intense than sports that I am used to such as tennis, basketball, and football.
But is the simplicity of pickleball what makes it so appealing? I’m still attempting to figure all of that out. But I have to say, the game itself is easy to learn, fun, and proved to be a great workout.
While no, I’m not training to become the next pickleball great now, it wasn’t a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.