Pickleball’s Real Opponent: Public Perception

The Drum — Pickleball is everywhere right now. It’s the fastest-growing sport in the US, with participation up over 35% year-on-year. You’ll find courts carved into country clubs and city parks, players packing rec centers and entire communities rearranging their facilities to make room.

Reframing a retirement hobby as a serious, competitive brand platform has marketers in a real pickle.

There are celebrity investors such as LeBron James and Tom Brady staking out ownership in professional teams. Major League Pickleball has formed. Prize purses are growing. TV and streaming deals are being signed.

But there’s one problem. A lot of people still don’t think it’s a real sport.

Charles Barkley captured the stereotype perfectly: “The problem with pickleball is I don’t like playing with old people.”

That one line sums up the perception challenge facing brands, agencies and the sport itself. If they want pickleball to grow beyond a fad and become a legitimate, competitive, multi-generational platform, they’ll need to do more than sell paddles. They’ll need to sell legitimacy.

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