How pickleball became one of the fastest-growing sports in America — and which companies are benefiting from the boom

• Pickleball, a hybrid of tennis and ping pong, is one of the fastest-growing sports in the US.
• Its popularity, spurred in part by the pandemic, has led to a cohort of new gear companies.

Maggie Brown's pickleball obsession began on a cruise ship about five years ago.

Brown, cofounder of pickleball startup Recess, stumbled upon a court aboard the ship, and she and her three siblings taught themselves to play. Fast-forward to pandemic-era lockdowns, and Brown was playing pickleball with her siblings every day in what they deemed, fittingly, recess.

"We ended up building a legit court: pouring cement, painting the lines, doing the whole thing," Brown told Insider. "Then I went online to buy paddles and there was just nothing that really fit my aesthetic."

Brown and her cofounder, Grace Moore, decided to launch their own company that offers stylish pickleball paddles, balls, and some apparel and accessories. About a year after launch, the Austin-based company's gear is being stocked by Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, and Nordstrom.

The success of Recess and other pickleball startups like it is the direct result of the sport's soaring popularity in the US. Once considered a recreational pastime for tennis players trying to go easier on their joints, pickleball has become one of the nation's fastest-growing sports, driven, in part, by the pandemic. And with the legions of new fans has come a demand for new gear — and the startups to supply it.

4.8 million pickleball players nationwide

For those who haven't yet been bitten by the pickleball bug, it's best described as a cross between tennis and ping pong. Like tennis, pickleball can be played as a singles or doubles game on a court with a net, albeit with a much smaller footprint than a tennis court. Like ping pong, the game is played with hard paddles and a hollow ball, although the ball is perforated, much like a Wiffle ball.

Pickleball was invented in 1965 by a group of dads outside Seattle, and in the decades since, has become a pastime akin to badminton or bocce ball: easy to learn and low-impact. Those who want their own gear have typically turned to major sports-equipment brands like Franklin and Head, or companies that serve the pro space, like Selkirk.

But over the past five years, pickleball has had a double-digit growth rate annually, according to data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, a trade group that represents the sporting goods industry. All told, there were 4.8 million pickleball players in the US as of 2021, the bulk of them between the ages of 18 and 34. According to SFIA data, the average age of people playing pickleball continues to drop: it was 41 in 2020, and 38.1 in 2021.

"During shelter-in-place, we were all sort of living like the quasi-retired," Alyssa Carroll, founder of Los Angeles-based pickleball brand Disco Country Club, told Insider. "People needed something that was outdoors. They wanted something social and active. So to me, I think that was a lot of the impetus for it catching on with younger people."

Carroll, a longtime tennis player, started her company when, much like Brown from Recess, she couldn't find many options for pickleball gear that fit her aesthetic. The company now sells retro-inspired paddles, balls, and carrying cases, with a set retailing for $115.

And as for the company's name, it, too, was born from the depths of the pandemic doldrums: Carroll said she started thinking about where she'd rather be and landed on a country club, but chill and cool, like the disco. Disco Country Club was born.

Hopping on the pickleball bandwagon

Tequila brand Casamigos is sponsoring pickleball tournaments (one of its founders, actor George Clooney, is apparently a fan of the game). Fashion label Alice + Olivia launched a pickleball collection that includes fitted tops and tennis skirts. Media mogul Gary Vaynerchuk now owns a Major League Pickleball team. And Architectural Digest recently touted pickleball courts as the hottest amenity in luxury real estate developments, eclipsing attractions like golf.

But while pickleball may be becoming a luxurious amenity, it remains a pretty democratic and affordable pastime, according to Catherine Baxter, the founder and CEO of Cincinnati-based pickleball company Nettie.

Baxter told Insider that what drew her to pickleball is the fact that you don't have to spend a ton of money to get started, and you can play pretty much anytime, anywhere. Case in point: Baxter's in-laws shoved their couch to the side to erect a makeshift, mini-pickleball court inside their New York City apartment during the pandemic.

After seeing how much the sport was catching on, both in her own family and across the country, Baxter started working on Nettie in February 2021 — by November, she was ready for a soft launch of her colorful, '60s-inspired paddles, which can be bought in a $150 set with two balls and two sweatbands straight out of "The Royal Tenenbaums." She sold out about two weeks after launch, she told Insider.

Now, Baxter is focused on getting paddles into the hands of as many people as possible, regardless of age and ability.

"There aren't that many games and sports that you can actively play with your in-laws or your parents or your grandparents," she said. "It's pretty rare."