Pickleball craze is a big score for business

Kinsey Watkins has dropped about $1,000 on pickleball, and it’s only been three months.

Watkins plays two to three times a week (sometimes as many as six times) as she’s built out her gear: court shoes, pickleball balls, cooling towels — a necessity in the Dallas heat — and an array of tennis dresses and skirts. She just picked up a second paddle and is on the hunt for a pickleball bag.

“This has been such a positive influence on my life. So it’s definitely worth it for me to keep putting money into it,” the 29-year-old consultant said. “And I want to look cute and stylish — that’s very important to me.”

The pickleball craze overtaking recreation centers and repurposed tennis courts across the country is ushering in major shifts in the retail landscape. Running stores are stocking up on pickleball shoes. Walmart has tripled its shelf space for paddles, balls and other merchandise. Start-ups like Picklemall are turning ailing malls into indoor courts.

But Americans’ fascination with the game also marks the rare convergence of sport and lifestyle, much like yoga, aerobics and jogging did in years past. Moisture-wicking tennis skirts and racerback tank dresses transition from workout to streetwear, and are big sellers for brands like Lululemon and Nike. Retailers as diverse as Abercrombie & Fitch and Tory Burch carry their own variations.

Even the venerable Franklin Sports — a third-generation sporting goods brand best known for batting gloves used by professional ballplayers and Little Leagers alike — now counts pickleball as its fastest-growing product line.

The rise of professional circuits and breakout stars like 16-year-old Anna Leigh Waters — who has endorsement deals with sportswear brand Fila and paddle maker Paddletek — only add to its appeal. Pickleball participation surged 85.7 percent in 2022, year-over-year, and 158.6 percent over three years, according to The Sports & Fitness Industry Association.

“Pickleball is a real unicorn sport … in that you don’t find a sport that comes around that has mass participation appeal as well as mass retail appeal,” said Adam Franklin, president of Franklin Sports.

‘Comfy and stylish’

As Americans emerged from the pandemic, Kristen Classi-Zummo started noticing heightened interest in racquet-wear, a reflection of what she calls our new “hybrid lifestyle.”

Before the pandemic, yoga pants and leggings defined casual attire, she said. But once covid-19 took hold, homebound Americas opted for cozier options like sweatpants and sweatshirts. Now, tennis dresses and skirts — which are functional enough to sweat in but stylish enough to dine out in — have “taken off,” said Classi-Zummo, a director and industry analyst at the market research firm Circana.

Tennis apparel, a category that encompasses pickleball, has grown 41 percent since 2020, according to Circana. Sales topped $340 million in the 12 months ending in June — a 15 percent increase from the previous 12 months.

“Pickleball and tennis are definitely inspiring a lot of this style and outfit,” Classi-Zummo said. “But where I think the continued growth is coming from is just the ease and versatility — it’s perfectly suited for where we are today.”

Vicki Rabin Bursten, a retired dermatologist who splits her summers between Houston and Aspen, Colo., said she likes to dress for the heat whether she’s playing pickleball or not.

Workout tops and tennis skirts are her go-tos, even when hiking or running errands. “I’d rather wear that than a pair of shorts — it’s more flattering,” the 63-year-old said.

Watkins, of Dallas, says she wears an athletic dress most days and has noticed more women doing the same. “You look cute as heck and stylish,” she said. “That’s all women want — to be comfy and stylish.”

Athletic brands like Outdoor Voices, Girlfriend Collective, Athleta and Alo Yoga have large selections of tennis dresses. There’s also Bandier, which recently announced a pickleball line.

“Self-expression has always played an important role in tennis, with the right style building confidence on and off the court,” Sun Choe, Lululemon’s chief product officer, said in an email. “As we saw more of our guests participating in the sport, we saw a real opportunity to create products that deliver the functionality and versatility they have come to know and love from Lululemon.”

Activewear has a history of transcending sport. In the 1920s, six-time Wimbledon champ Suzanne Lenglen’s penchant for pleated tennis dresses turned her into a trendsetter. Lycra leotards popularized by Jazzercise and aerobics made their way into street fashion in the ’80s. Yoga pants began dominating in the late ’90s. There’s also the skater shoes of the early 2000s, and track suits and running shoes in the ’70s.

Some companies have begun branding clothing for pickleball. Franklin’s company is developing a clothing line with larger pockets to better accommodate a pickleball, which is larger than its felted tennis ball cousin.

Eric Hsu, a 35-year-old dentist and competitive pickleball player in Sacramento, said he only wears Lululemon these days, estimating that he’s spent about $600 on clothes this year.

“I’m super cheap, but if there is anything I spend my money on, it’s great athletic apparel, like I didn’t even know I needed it until I had it,” Hsu said.

Sales of tennis shoes, meanwhile, topped $44 million in the 12 months ending in June, a 12 percent increase year-over-year. Beth Goldstein, footwear industry analyst at Circana, said court shoes can serve as a fashion statement.

But serious players say it’s about utility and ankle support. Rabin Bursten plays so often that she replaces her Wilson Rush Pro sneakers every three months. “Every time you turn around, you hear about another pickleball injury,” she said, noting that her husband ripped his calf muscle while playing, and a friend hurt his Achilles’ tendon.

Tennis and pickleball shoes are both designed to prevent players from rolling their ankles. The pickleball versions are wide in the forefoot, because the sport requires more side-to-side movement, Hsu said.

“Does it make a difference? I don’t know. I’ve beat people with pickleball shoes, I’ve lost to people with pickleball shoes,” he said.

Still, more pickleball shoes are entering the market. David Hirshfeld, co-owner of Holabird Sports in Baltimore, said he’s added more than 100 of them to his inventory in recent years.

‘Picking up the slack’

Franklin saw great potential for pickleball as far back as 2016. It’s easy to learn, it’s social and people of all ages and physical shape can play — a recipe for mass appeal, he said. So he and his team partnered with Walmart to set aside 4-foot sections for pickleball merchandise. Then the pandemic happened, which “absolutely poured gasoline” on the sport, Franklin said, fast-forwarding its growth “by five to 10 years.”

Pickleball has been the nation’s fastest-growing sport three years running, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. Sales of pickleball equipment skyrocketed almost 500 percent since 2020, racking in almost $304 million in the 12 months ending in June, according to Circana.

Privately held Franklin Sports does not disclose sales figures. But Franklin says the pickleball line is in more stores than its heritage baseball collection. The Franklin X-40 is the official ball for USA Pickleball and the U.S. Open in Naples, Fla., the world’s largest pickleball tournament.

The Stoughton, Mass.-based company’s paddles and balls can now be found at Walgreens, CVS, Costco and BJ’s. Some retailers, including Target, Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods, reserve as much as 16 feet for pickleball gear, Franklin said.

This is notable, Franklin said, because retailers historically have not embraced sports having a moment, like snowboarding in the 2000s and lacrosse, which is still popular in certain regions. It has even surpassed tennis racket and ball sales, according to Circana.

Tennis also benefited from the “covid bump,” said Julia Day, executive director of business development at Circana. But sales of rackets and other gear have since pulled back. Revenue for the 12 months ending in June fell 4 percent to $285 million, about $19 million less than pickleball equipment.

At Holabird Sports, Hirshfeld has seen tennis sales soften in the past year. But his pickleball business “just skyrocketed,” he said. “Pickleball is definitely picking up the slack.”

The sport has also opened up opportunities for new businesses. Catherine Baxter founded paddle company Nettie in 2021 after her in-laws became so obsessed with the sport that they took art off the walls and moved furniture to create a miniature court in their Manhattan apartment.

Baxter soon noticed product lines were either high-end or low-end, with little in the midpriced range.

“I thought there was a market for something that was high quality — still good for performance — but was more geared toward a recreational player and had more personality and color and good design,” Baxter said.

The gender-neutral paddles are sold in 150 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores nationwide and more than 250 independent retailers such as boutiques, gift shops, and country club stores. Baxter plans to add nets, paddle bags and covers to her product line.

Most players start with less-expensive paddles — some as low-priced as $40 can be found on Amazon. They may also opt for the more attractive-looking paddle designs that reflect their style or interest. But the majority of paddles range from $70 to $250. In the 12 months ending in June, 3.9 million paddles were sold, Day said. That compares with 1.1 million for the same period in 2020.

Monica Mora, who started playing three years ago, said she’s seen paddles improve with new designs and technology.

“The more we’ve played, the more we’ve needed to update to better ones,” said Mora, 29, who works in marketing at a start-up fund in New York. “So the [paddle] we started playing with three years ago, we’re like, ‘Oh my god, this thing was terrible.’”

‘A huge runway for growth’

To the dismay of many tennis players angry to have lost courts to pickleball, the boom is ongoing.

“I still think there’s a huge runway for growth … and we have high expectations for not only participation, but the overall market size,” Franklin said.

Hirshfeld said Holabird is constantly seeing new faces in the store. They historically focused on tennis and running, but now they stock several hundred paddles, and customers can try out the equipment in an in-store test court.

“What’s a good thing about pickleball is, yeah, maybe taking some of the tennis customers away, but you’re picking up golfers, people that never played any sports at all,” he said. “It’s brought a new customer base into the market.”

There are also immense opportunities globally, Franklin said, where pickleball has just started to gain traction.

The sport is also benefiting local economies. Hollowed out malls and big box stores are getting new life with some vacant storefronts being transformed into pickleball courts. Pickleball facilities have taken over a Saks Off 5th in Stamford, Conn.; a Bed Bath & Beyond in Lake St. Louis, Mo.; a Belk in Macon, Ga.; and an Old Navy in Concord, N.H.