Tennis players have long bemoaned the encroachment of pickleball courts onto their hallowed spaces. But could the increasing popularity of pickleball actually be, dare I say it, fueling the growth of tennis?
It’s widely known that a lot of tennis players, both pro (looking at you, Krygios and Agassi) and recreational, have been migrating from tennis over to pickleball. But what about players migrating from pickleball to tennis?
After coming across an article about more pickleball players making the jump to tennis, we decided to do some research to see if the stats back up this observation.
Chasing the Numbers: What Clubs Are Seeing
I contacted 21 centers and clubs offering both pickleball and tennis and heard back from 8 in total: 2 in California, 2 in Texas, 2 in Florida, 2 in Arizona, and the numbers speak for themselves: nationwide, the continuing trend is tennis to pickleball but not really the other way around.
A staff member at The Tennis & Pickleball Club of Newport Beach reported having "never seen pickleball to tennis." In contrast, when I spoke to Adam from the Fort Myers Racquet Club was less absolute, but informed us that that "about 80% of our players are tennis to pickleball," and composed mostly of seniors "who have moved away from tennis because of the larger size of the court."
Similar responses came from the state of Texas; Samuel Grand Tennis and Pickleball in Dallas reported pickleball players being drawn to the "more social and less competitive," especially "a lot of younger people who want to play with their friends."
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Vote: Has pickleball changed the way you look at tennis?
Less Wimbledon, More Happy Hour
"More social and less competitive."
"Less competitive" caught my attention because at least in my experience, pickleball players are anything but. However, it seems that the sport of pickleball is splitting off into two distinct groups: very competitive players, often former tennis players or other athletes who bring that play-to-win mindset with them, and a subset of players, often younger, who have never really been athletic but are drawn to the sport for its social aspect.
One only need look at the uptick in pickleball clubs that offer booze and fancy dining options (and apparently even yoga at one club in Georgia!) alongside pickleball or brands like Recess Pickleball emphasizing the pickleball aesthetic.
Celine Leon
For now, pickleball-to-tennis converts are rare—and for good reason. Tennis demands a bigger time investment, pricier gear, and a lot more practice just to survive a basic rally.
In contrast, pickleball is very beginner-friendly and is as easy or challenging as you make it. Furthermore, tennis, with its larger court, is arguably more physically challenging which discourages those not so eager to sprint for every ball, whether due to bad knees or laziness (kidding).
Tennis Isn't Going Anywhere
Nevertheless, tennis continues to grow. Recent stats from the USTA report that tennis participation reached an all-time high of 25.7 million players following five years of consecutive growth and in 2024, 1 in 12 Americans played tennis. The root of this growth stems mainly from younger players, with players under 35 making up two-thirds of the growth in 2024.
In 2024, 1 in 12 Americans played tennis.
Jason Flamm
Pickleball Rekindles Tennis Dreams
But let's not disregard anecdotal evidence that a pickleball-to-tennis movement may be on the horizon. An older acquaintance of mine who has not played tennis in years and recently got into pickleball mentioned to me how she was considering getting back into tennis after feeling reinvigorated from her success in pickleball (she's a beast on the court, those corner shots are wicked).
A similar story was told to me by a staff member at the DC Ranch Village Tennis Center in Scottsdale where although he had not seen many pickleball players picking up tennis overall, the ones he had seen were mostly former tennis players finding their way back.
So while pickleball might not be producing a lot of new tennis converts, perhaps it has the power to inspire and instill confidence in former, particularly elderly tennis players to pick up their beloved sport again, and isn't that worth celebrating?
Maybe it’s not a flood. Maybe it’s just a few players, rediscovering their love for a game they thought they’d left behind. Either way, it’s a win. Plus, it doesn't look like either sport is gonna be strapped for numbers anytime soon.
