U.S. Pickleball Participation Trends: Pickleball remains the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., but a new mid-year report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) shows that its rapid growth may be slowing. In 2024, about 19.8 million Americans played pickleball, a 45.8% increase from 2023. Early 2025 data indicates a 14.7% rise.
Background and Context
The SFIA, a sports market research firm based in Washington, D.C., tracks participation across more than 30 sports. Its 2025 Topline Participation Report is the most complete source of data on pickleball.
This year, SFIA introduced a mid-year report to track participation trends more closely. The organization gathers information from roughly 20,000 online interviews nationwide, weighted by age, gender, income, ethnicity, household size, region, and population density.
Pickleball’s Recent Growth
Pickleball’s rise has been dramatic over the past five years:
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2019: 3.46 million players
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2020: 4.20 million players
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2021: 4.82 million players
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2022: 8.95 million players
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2023: 13.58 million players
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2024: 19.81 million players
After a remarkable increase of 45% in 2024, growth from 2024 to 2025 is projected at 14.7%, suggesting that the sport may be moving toward a period of stabilization.
“Pickleball remains the fastest-growing sport, though early indicators suggest its explosive growth may be slowing,”( SFIA noted).
What’s Driving Interest
Pickleball continues to attract players of all ages. It is not only played widely but is also gaining attention in professional sports. Recent data from Major League Pickleball (MLP) shows that a single Saturday match at the MLP Finals in New York City drew an average of 433,000 viewers on CBS.
SFIA cautions that participation figures can shift because many sports are seasonal.
“This is only an early snapshot. Because many sports and activities are seasonal, there is still time for these numbers to shift,”
The report states.
Future Outlook
Experts suggest that the next challenge for pickleball is not attracting new players—they are already engaged—but providing enough facilities and infrastructure to support growing demand.
Pickleball’s popularity is expected to remain strong, even if growth rates moderate.
News in Brief: U.S. Pickleball Participation Trends
Pickleball in the U.S. continues to grow, reaching 19.8 million players in 2024. New SFIA data shows growth slowing to 14.7% in early 2025, marking a potential stabilization. The sport remains widely popular, with professional matches drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers, and demand for courts continues to rise.