What is the H&F forum's take on Pickleball? I really enjoy it (and I am not old). I used to be a relatively serious tennis and then racquetball player but enjoy PB more.

Same boat as you. Mainly tennis player, but Pickleball is a lot of fun and more cardio than you would suspect. There's not as much of a learning curve as tennis so you can get friends, spouses, family , olds, etc. to agree to play more easily

Pickleball is awesome! Not going to be a tremendous workout in my opinion but it's a heck of alot of fun. More of a social game.

Love pickle ball. Underrated game in my opinion, and you can certainly work up a sweat / get your heart rate up playing it.

Think you nailed it with "I enjoy it". Are there more efficient exercises from a color or burning stand point? Sure. But, if you like it and play it, it's a lot better than a lot of other options.

My place finally just out 2 courts in. It has been awesome. Huge fan. Club champion in the making.

Pickleball is serious business In Southern California. People pay $65-100 entry fees for tournaments.

I still prefer tennis. I play a 4.5 level pickleball player/coach in singles pickleball. I probably play once every month and can hang with this guy. It's fun but it's hard to take the sport Serious when it's flooded with old women. Having said that, there is a lot of cardio in singles pickleball. Prefer singles over doubles.

It is sometimes hard to play Rec level b/c all levels of players show up. If you can get into a group with good people, it is really fun and good exercise. I have played with all sorts of people....former professional/college athletes to beginners.

Also, these places are doing well from what I understand. One is opening in San Antonio soon. From what I can tell, it a PB version of Top Golf.

https://chickennpickle.com/kc/

All I know is that the great Pickleball court vs. cutting down oak trees controversy of 2020 is going on in Sun City/Georgetown where my mom lives. I have seen all the marked trees that they want to remove and, quite frankly, its a lot of trees. Plus, they already have Pickleball courts standing empty.around there but there is NO way that I'm getting involved in that.

You haven't seen HOA drama until you've seen old people HOA drama.....

Bump…. Have been playing quite a bit the last few months. Agree, doubles is usually not a great form of cardio but singles can be a hell of a workout.

The sport is growing like crazy, it is extremely difficult to get a court reservation at my gym for any of the popular times. Basically need to stay up until the clock strikes midnight a full week out from your desired day when our reservation system opens up.

My 10yr old has taken a liking to it as well, and I figure it's a matter of time until this sport starts to take off at the youth level. Thoughts?

I hear it's really fun, but I just can't bring myself to try it. Mostly because it always seems to be featured on AARP magazine and because it's advertised as a relaxing social activity.

I like pain, discomfort and physical risk in my sports and just don't see the same rush in pickleball (for me). But I hear people love it.

It's not a sport. It's an activity.

Tennis is a sport.

I'm now converted mainly to pickleball and I don't think it's even worth the debate about it being a sport or not. I don't know if I agree or disagree and I love playing it. However, If you are going to use that logic, then you would have to admit that Tennis isn't a sport for the majority of people that play it (it's an activity).

I posted on this thread 4 years ago. At that time I had just started playing and was playing 75 tennis 25% pickleball. I'm now playing 90% pickleball. I've had the opportunity to play competitively against a former top ranked professional tennis player in the 80's and high level players in their 20's (and in my 50's). I now have a side income from teaching pickleball clinics weekly. I would have never had these opportunities in tennis So I'm glad to have found this "activity".

The biggest blemish that pickleball has to fight is its biggest advantage (the fact that it appeals to old unathletic people). I had to fight this battle to accept it. It attracts a lot of unathletic people that have really never played anything in their life and they kind of ruin the experience on many levels. They begin to think they're good at it because they can smack it around a few times which would never happen in tennis. However, the positive is those people are willing to pay stupid money to try and improve at the game.

There are attempts to grow it at the youth level (mainly driven by people trying to monetarily take advantage of the recent popularity). Colleges are creating club teams and having regional competitions. Pro tours are creating developmental programs. A college recently announced scholarships to be offered. I truly don't think this will grow much more as there is no viewership possibility. Nobody wants to watch it they only want to play. The only way you can get viewership is to being legend tennis players to the screen to play it. So once people recognize that TV is not interested, it will stay as just an activity or a casual sport without much revenue potential from the player side. There is still a lot of money to be made from manufacturers and coaches though at the amateur level so the game will stick around at that level.

The game early on tried to grow through introducing it to PE programs for schools. In the 80's, this game was promoted through public schools and colleges as a physical education activity. Many universities offered it as a PE class in the 80's. A lot of middle schools and high schools til this day offer it for a few weeks in PE classes. But it never took off mainstream until the pandemic hit.

I hope so. Bc I'm so damn tired of fighting for tennis court space.

I always get a good laugh from PB players who ask me when the facility drew tennis court lines on the PB courts. They legit have no Fn clue.

It's not going to go back to just old people. It's too easy to pick up and play so it will stay relevant to most age groups. I do think cities should not allow pickleball groups to take over existing tennis courts. The city or private industry needs to build out specific courts. That is about the only way to prevent the friction between tennis and pickleball. The element that plays pickleball thst can't play tennis have no etiquette and it's very frustrating to see as a tennis enthusiast who primarily plays pickleball now.

Its crazy how it has exploded. Im in Austin and there are some serious pickelball players here. I compared it to putt putt. I am tennis guy so i find the rules designed to appeal to a less athletic crowd.

As a tennis player who has also played some pickleball and enjoyed it, the animosity between the two groups is hilarious and sad all at the same time.

Both are great for getting people off the couch and active. Both are fun.

I have no dog in this fight, but can we start referring to Pickle Ball players as "pickle heads" in a derogatory manner?

I just went to the local running store and they are now carrying pickleball supplies. Paddles, court shoes and accessories.

It's everywhere!!!

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The element that plays pickleball thst can't play tennis have no etiquette and it's very frustrating to see as a tennis enthusiast

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This. This is really all that needs to be said.

Love there's another outdoor activity that has become popular. But man oh man…it mixed 2 very different elements.