Energizing and addictive, pickleball is growing in numbers and age groups

Jul. 8—EXETER

America's fastest-growing sport sounds about as serious as a jellybean.

Just the name elicits chuckles, raised eyebrows and disbelief.

Non-players — if there are still a few out there — ask the perennial question: What's pickleball? And if they're really curious: How come so many people like it?

Since its inception 58 years ago, pickleball has taken this country by storm, paddle by paddle, court by court.

"It's one of the few sports where age and speed are equalized," said Joe Santoro, 79, of Wolfeboro, a certified pickleball referee and a board member of the U.S. Pickleball Hall of Fame. "A grandparent can have a competitive game with a 10-year-old. Pickleball people tend to be the friendliest adults."

The reasons were clear to Linda Ingram, 60, of Medfield, Mass., who came Friday to the Exeter Recreation Center to play in the third annual Pickleball Tournament Fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire. "Anyone can play," she said. "But to forewarn you: You will become addicted."

She's been playing right-handed for two months, she said, since rotator cuff surgery took her better left arm out of commission.

"If you have an ADHD tendency, it's a quick hit" she said. "You can find your people to play with. You can go and not be afraid to go."

"I can't run for three minutes, but I can play pickleball for four hours," said Linda Rhines, a middle-aged surfer who divides her time between Somerville, Mass., and Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Rhines came to the nationally sanctioned two-day competition with her husband and adult children, ages 21 and 23. They play doubles whenever they are in the same place at the same time and can find a court nearby.

Between Friday and Saturday, 352 tournament competitors came from as far away as Alaska, Costa Rica, Quebec and Hawaii, including 143 from New Hampshire. The goal was to raise $50,000 for the adult mentoring program for youth in need, beating the $20,000 raised at the second annual event last year. Enthusiasts signed up in January, sometimes within minutes after registration opened.

"I didn't take it that seriously (at first)," said Rhines. "To me, it was like tiddlywinks or bocce ball. Then it kind of just grew on me, like a spouse."

Rhines, who played basketball and field hockey growing up, discovered pickleball as an outdoor release during COVID.

"You get a lot of endorphins going. It's a really great way to get a workout. It's fun just to act and not think about it. It's the best parts of tennis, condensed," she said.

"I thought it was just for old people," her son, Conrad DeMasi, 23, said Friday, before his scheduled singles match. "You try it and get the bug right away. Now it's our family sport."

Given the opportunity, he would build a court behind his house. "If I make it in life, that's what I'll have."

Founded in 1965 by two grandfathers who were desperate to come up with an activity to entertain their grandchildren, pickleball — which combines features of tennis, badminton and ping-pong — is now the third-most popular sport in America, trailing only football and baseball. The Association of Pickleball Professionals estimate that 48.3 million American adults — almost 19% of the country's adult population — have played pickleball at least once in the last 12 months.

On any given day, 40 people turn up to play on Wolfeboro's six courts, Santoro said — next to three empty tennis courts. The Villages in Florida boasts 240 pickleball courts.

There's a pickleball U.S. Open in April. It's about to become an Olympic sport. Long considered the risk-averse pursuit of active seniors, it appeals across the lifespan, and players of all ages say it's addictive.

"Pickleball is straight addiction," said Chelsea Lisaius, 37, of Lorren, Vermont, and Costa Rica, who played tennis growing up then field hockey in college. "The social aspect of pickleball makes it way more enjoyable for a way longer amount of time."

"Tennis people scoff at pickleball, but people get addicted to it," said Paul Maggiotto, 64, of Center Barnstead, who's been playing for six years since a friend turned him on to it during a vacation at Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Maggiotto, a Concord attorney formerly with the NH Attorney's General's Office, used to play squash and ping-pong — skills that translate directly to pickleball.

"What I love about it is it's great exercise in a competitive way, but it's also very friendly. The etiquette is to invite people into the game you're playing," he said. Whenever you're traveling, whether for business or a vacation, "You find out where the pickleball court is. You show up and put your paddle in a line" and are invited to join a game when your turn comes up.

"It's friendly, welcoming, easy to learn and it's addictive because it's competitive."

"It's easy to learn but tough to master," said Tim Everett of Laconia, a player in his 50s, who said the sport seems to be uniquely suited to children, retirees and everyone in-between. "You only have to take two steps to cover the whole court. You don't have to be really athletic."

"It's accessible for a lot of people who are active and want to stay active. You end up with new friendships and connections with people age 16 to 90, which is really special about the sport," said Nicole McShane, vice president for philanthropy at Big Brothers Big Sisters NH, which held its first pickleball fundraiser in 2021.

She said she had to explain pickleball to the nonprofit's trustees because not everyone knew what it was.

Sometimes pickleball gets "a bad rap," she said. "It sounds goofy. It can be goofy. It can be fun. As we see people grow with the sport, we see their talents and skills grow. They want more challenging play."

Starting is easy and there are local opportunities. Courts have become a big draw in towns and cities nationwide, who are adding more all the time, sometimes converting tennis courts that get little use. Four pickleball courts fit inside one tennis court. Clubs, leagues and pickup games are the norm.

"In no time, you can play with friends," said McShane. "It's great for families. It can be social, or very, very competitive."

Naples, Florida, home of the U.S. Open Pickleball Championship, boasts more than 100 courts. There are pickleball camps and pickleball cruises, as well as tourist packages where one can visit European cities and play.

Contrary to pickleball's stereotype as a pastime for oldsters, the number one female player in the U.S. is currently a 16-year-old girl from Delray Beach, Florida, who just got her driver's license. Big investors, including Tom Brady and Mark Cuban, have purchased professional teams. Serious amateurs with eyes on medals and national ranks follow a circuit of sanctioned tournaments across the U.S., including five in New Hampshire between June and September — two in Wolfeboro, and one each in Exeter, Derry and at the New Hampshire Senior Games.

Even at competitions, the sport stays undeniably amiable.

"There is no John McEnroe in the pickleball world," Maggiotto said. "You might get pickleball snobs who only want to play with people at their level." But he adds there's no such thing as pickleball rage. "I think there would be a lot of peer pressure to reign somebody in like that."

"Every time I introduce someone to it, we have at least one good rally the first game," said DeMasi, who got further into the sport when he moved to Los Angeles and used it as a way to meet others. With a ball "like a Wiffle ball but thicker, it bounces pretty well. It's pretty satisfying to smack."

Injuries and disabilities don't keep people off the court.

In other sports, "I've never seen a guy who's overweight and has two knee braces on he beats you," said Brian Grogan, 51, who took up pickleball two and a half years ago while commuting between Lakewood Ranch, Florida, and a wealth management business in Exeter. At the recent U.S. Pickleball Open, which drew more than 3,000 players to Naples, one 89-year-old competitor wore an oxygen tank on his back.

Grogan, whose company co-sponsored the Exeter event, said he plays nearly seven days a week year-round, including with his wife and two daughters.

"Do I get burned out? No way. I just hope my body holds up. I'm an idiot. I'm out there for three hours," he said. "Rinse and repeat. Wake up and do it again. It's the fastest-growing sport because any skill level can come out and have fun. You don't have to be technically sound. It's almost like standing on top of a ping-pong table."

In tennis, "my biggest weakness was my serve," said Grogan. "Now it doesn't matter any more."