About USA Pickleball

• USA Pickleball membership surpassed 100,000 members, reflecting continued growth in participation and engagement nationwide.
• The USA Pickleball National Championships moved to the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California, welcoming more than 2,500 athletes from 47 states and 20 countries and establishing a new home for the premier event in amateur pickleball.
• Through two rounds of USA Pickleball Serves’ Grow the Game Grant Program, 105 schools, community organizations, and recreation programs across 28 states received equipment and educational resources, creating a projected impact of more than 493,000 individuals nationwide.
• USA Pickleball Serves awarded its first-ever Play It Forward Grants, investing $100,000 in community court enhancement projects in Oregon and Massachusetts to increase access to dedicated pickleball facilities.
• USA Pickleball unveiled the USA Pickleball Serves Community Court at the Barnes Tennis Center, furthering its commitment to court access, youth programming, and community engagement.
• Pickleball participation in the United States reached an estimated 24.3 million players, marking the fourth consecutive year as America’s fastest-growing sport.

• USA Pickleball Serves, the charitable arm of USA Pickleball was created to help grow the game.
• USA Pickleball Ambassadors grew to 2,051 dedicated, volunteer ambassadors promoting the sport across the country.
• USA Pickleball National Championships featured wheelchair pickleball as a competitive division for the first time, held in Mesa, AZ. This marked a significant step for the sport’s inclusivity, offering adaptive players the opportunity to compete on the sport’s premier stage.
• Year ended with 15,910 pickleball courts nationwide. Lots of places to play shared from the USA Pickleball’s database.
• 2024 Pickleball Hall of Fame inductees were John Gullo, Simone Jardim and Kyle Yates.

• USA Pickleball membership numbers reached the 70,000 mark in February of 2023, after a nearly 30 percent increase in membership growth in 2022.
• In its 2023 Topline Participation Report, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America for the third year in a row. According to the report, pickleball is now up to a total of 8.9 million players in the United States over the age of six years old, an increase from 4.8 million in 2022.
• In March, USA Pickleball and the Professional Pickleball Association announced that the 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships, presented by the PPA Tour, will be held in Dallas this November.
• 2023 Pickleball Hall of Fame inductees were Mona Burnett, Jennifer Dawson, Seymour Rifkind, Scott Moore and Bill Booth.

• The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America for the second consecutive year in its annual 2022 Topline Participation Report.
• The 2022 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships drew nearly 2,300 registered players, with the professional players competing for $150,000 in prize money.
• The Indian Wells Tennis Garden hosted 5,522 fans at the peak of Championship Sunday, the largest-ever pickleball attendance in history.
• In 2022, “pickleball” was one of the hottest trends in the U.S., receiving unprecedented media coverage from major domestic and international outlets.
• CBS Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley does a nationally televised pickleball segment featuring USAP member and Pickleball Hall of Fame member, Jennifer Lucore.
• ESPN airs One Nation, Under Pickleball.
• 2022 Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductees were Norm Davis, Wes Gabrielsen, Pat Kane and Larry Moon.

• USA Pickleball Membership reached the 50,000 milestone and ended the year with just over 53,000 members, a 43% increase from the previous year and the largest single growth year to date for the organization. With over 2,300 registered players, the 2021 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships presented by Pickleball Central was the largest tournament in the world to date.
• USAP continued to reinvest in staff infrastructure and ended the year with nearly 20 staff members. Media exposure also continued to drive awareness with several national segments on NBC’s The Today Show, CNBC, BBC News, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and stories published within top-rated publications including The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Allure, The Boston Globe, The Economist, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Parade, and Axios.
• 2021 Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductees were Keith Bisel, Yvonne Hackenberg, Gigi LeMaster and Steve Wong.

• USAPA rebranded as USA Pickleball, aligning more consistently it with other US sports governing bodies and our USA Pickleball National Championships. The brand re-launch also includes a new, modern logo and an updated website. The new name, logo and website are designed to strengthen USA Pickleball’s worldwide image as the official pickleball organization in the U.S.
• Stu Upson joined USA Pickleball in December as the first full-time CEO.
• USAPA has a network of over 1,900 volunteer ambassadors.
• The COVID-19 pandemic hit and in mid-March, all official USAP sanctioned play was suspended and subsequently cancelled along with all other forms of competitive play through the end of the year.
• 2020 Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductees were Bill Bell, Jim Hackenberg, Alex Hamner and Hilary Marold.

• One year after attending USA Pickleball’s first National Championships at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Barney McCallum, the last of three originating founders of the sport, passed away at age 93 in Seattle, Washington.
• 2019 Pickleball Participation Report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) reports 3.3 million players in the United States. 62% of players are men, and the average age for all players is 41 years old.
• The APP Tour, (Association of Pickleball Players), was launched in June and is the first USA Pickleball-sanctioned tour for professionals and amateurs.
• The PPA, (Professional Pickleball Association), was founded as a professional tour for pickleball players.
• To support the growing membership base and expand on its grassroots initiatives, USAP added 6 new full-time and 3 part-time staff members. (strike including Hope Tolley as Managing Director of Recreation Programs, George Bauernfeind as the first Chief Marketing Officer, and Karen Parrish as Head of Competition and Officiating).
• Anna Leigh Waters became a professional pickleball player at the age of 12, making her the youngest pro player in history.
• 2019 Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductees were Jennifer Lucore, Dan Gabanek, Steve Paranto, and Enrique Ruiz.

• USAPA membership surpasses 30,000.
• The total number of courts per Places2Play locations is nearly 7,000, and there are nearly 21,000 known courts across the U.S.
• USAPA partners with Pickleballtournaments.com to produce and launch the sports first results-based tournament player ratings (UTPRs).
• USAPA partners with the newly formed Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR), a subsidiary of the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR).  During the first 6 months, PPR certifies over 1,000 new pickleball instructors.
• USAPA members Jennifer Lucore and Beverly Youngren co-author and publish the sport’s first historical book, (4) History of Pickleball, More Than 50 Year of Fun!
• The USA Pickleball partners with Desert Champions, LLC with a multi-year deal and moves the National Championships to the world-renowned Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, CA. Registration for the newly branded Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships explodes to over 2,200 participants.  The event featured over 17 hours of live-streamed content to a nation-wide audience on ESPN3 and a 1-hour segment aired nationally on ESPNEWS.  The event also provides the highest cash purse ($75,000) in the history of the sport.
• USAPA Facebook team carried several live matches of the National Championships on Facebook and had a total reach of over 1.5Million viewers.
• Pickleball Hall of Fame inductees were Earl Hill, Fran Myer and Robert Lanius.

• The USAPA volunteer Ambassador group exceeds 1,500.
• Places2Play reflects nearly 5,900 locations.
• USAPA expands the number of USAPA regionals from 8 to 11.
• USAPA and the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) partner to co-author the first official pickleball construction book for the sports industry. (3) Pickleball Courts – a Construction & Maintenance Manual provides detailed technical information for properly building pickleball courts and facilities.
• USAPA and the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA) launched a Pickleball Hall of Fame.  Inaugural inductees were Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum, Sid Williams, Arlen Paranto, Mark Friedenberg, and Billy Jacobsen.
• With over 1,300 players, the USAPA National Championships sets a record for participants and, for the first time, a 2-hour segment of the event airs to a nationwide audience on CBS Sports Network.
• USAPA membership doubles in two years, reaching 22,000 by December.

• USAPA reports it now has more than 17,000 members.
• USAPA creates a national certified referee certification program.
• Pickleball Magazine launched as the sport’s first full-color, professional print and digital publication.  USAPA members receive a free digital copy and a discount on a mailed subscription.
• The first US Open Pickleball Championships were held in Naples, FL and included the first nationally televised broadcast of pickleball on CBS Sports Network.
• More than 4,600 locations are now listed on Places2Play.
• USAPA selects St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital as it’s national charitable partner.
• The Super Senior International Pickleball Association (SSIPA) was created and partners with USAPA and sanctions all their tournaments.

• USAPA surpasses 10,000 members for the first time.
• The first USAPA ambassador retreat was held in Tahoe City, CA.
• According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), there are now just over 2 million pickleball players.
• USAPA and author Mary Littlewood collaborate with publisher Human Kinetics to produce a new pickleball book for beginners titled (2) Pickleball Fundamentals, Master the Basics and Compete with Confidence.
• After 6 years in Buckeye, AZ, USAPA moves the USAPA National Championships to Casa Grande, AZ.
• The total number of courts continues to grow, breaking through 10,000 courts and finishing the year at 12,800 for both indoor and outdoor courts.

• USAPA launched a new, more user-friendly website.
• Pickleball Channel launched, making it the first professional media group for the sport.

• In January, Justin Maloof joined USAPA as its first full-time Executive Director.
• The USAPA begins the year with a record 4,071 members.
• USAPA rebrands with a new logo and red, white, and blue color scheme that is more consistent with other US national sports governing bodies.
• The first Tournament of Champions was held in Utah.

To help foster the growth of the sport on an international level, USAPA established the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) organization and a corresponding website.

• The first USAPA National Tournament for players of all ages was held in Buckeye, Arizona, from November 2 to 8, 2009. The tournament drew almost 400 players from 26 states and several Canadian provinces.
• USAPA establishes the Grant Program to assist players in creating new sites for new players. By the end of 2013, the program had accounted for over 1,400 new sites.

• The USAPA Rules Committee, headed by Dennis Duey, published the (1) USA Pickleball Association Official Tournament Rulebook – Revision: May 1, 2008. 
• Pickleball was included for the first time at the National Senior Games Association (NSGA).
• There are now 420 places to play in North America as listed on the USAPA website. This represents 43 States and 4 Canadian provinces, as well as approximately 1,500 individual courts. This does not account for those places that are adding courts to private homes.
• ABC’s Good Morning America aired a live, in-studio segment on pickleball that included a brief demonstration.  This was the first mass media exposure for the sport.

A new corporation for the sport, the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA), was established.  Mark Friedenberg was named the first president of the new USAPA, and the first Board of Directors included:

• Vice President – Steve Wong
• Secretary – Fran Myer
• Treasurer – Lela Reed
• General Counsel – Phil Mortenson
• Grievance – Phil Mortenson
• Marketing – Erne Perry followed by Pat Carroll in March 2006
• Membership – Carole Myers
• National/International Relations and the Ambassador Program – Earl Hill
• Newsletter – Jettye Lanius
• Ratings and Rankings – Mark Friedenberg
• Rules – Dennis Duey
• Tournaments – Barney Myer
• Training – Norm Davis
• Webmaster – Steve Wong

Steve Wong (former USAPA Webmaster) created the first USAPA website that went live in March. Website activity continued to increase as the popularity of pickleball grew and the website’s features expanded.

USAPA became a Non-Profit Corporation on July 1.

USAPA collaborated with several websites to have them discontinue their “Places to Play” links and consolidate all their entries into the USAPA database, thereby creating a single, reliable source for players to find sites to play.

• There are 39 known places to play in North America listed on the Pickleball Stuff website. This represents 10 States, 3 Canadian Provinces and about 150 individual courts.
• Pickleball was included for the first time in the Huntsman World Senior Games, held annually in St. George, Utah, in October.

The game of pickleball was introduced for the first time in the Arizona Senior Olympics through the efforts of Earl Hill.  The tournament was played at Happy Trails RV Resort in Surprise, AZ and drew 100 players. It was the largest event ever played to that point. Over the next few years the event grew to nearly 300 players.

The first pickleball internet website, Pickleball Stuff, was launched, providing players with information, equipment, and products.

Joel Pritchard passed away at age 72. Though he was Washington State’s Lieutenant governor from 1988 to 1996, he is probably better known for his connection to the birth of pickleball.

Pickle-Ball, Inc. manufactured pickleballs in-house with a custom drilling machine.

Pickleball was being played in all 50 states.

The Villages, FL, built its first permanent courts.

• The United States Amateur Pickleball Association (U.S.A.P.A.) was organized to perpetuate the growth and advancement of pickleball on a national level. The first rulebook was published in March 1984.
• The first Executive Director and President of U.S.A.P.A. was Sid Williams who served from 1984 to 1998. He was followed by Frank Candelario who kept things going until 2004.
• The first composite paddle was made by Arlen Paranto, a Boeing Industrial Engineer. He used the fiberglass/nomex honeycomb panels that commercial airlines use for their floors and part of the airplane’s structural system. Arlen made about 1,000 paddles from fiberglass/honeycomb core and graphite/honeycomb core materials until he sold the company to Frank Candelario.

Pickleball pioneer, Sid Williams began playing and organizing tournaments in Washington state.

The book, The Other Raquet Sports, was published and included information about pickleball.

During the spring of 1976, the first known pickleball tournament in the world was held at South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington. David Lester won Men’s Singles and Steve Paranto placed second. Many of the participants were college tennis players who knew very little about pickleball.

The National Observer published an article about pickleball, followed an article the following year in Tennis Magazine about “America’s Newest Racquet Sport” which helped launch awareness of the sport and mass orders of pickleball products.

After playing golf one Saturday during the summer, Joel Pritchard, a congressman from Washington State, and Bill Bell, a successful businessman, returned to Pritchard’s home on Bainbridge Island, WA (near Seattle), to find their families sitting around with nothing to do. The property had an old badminton court, so Pritchard and Bell looked for some badminton equipment and could not find a full set of rackets. They improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. At first they placed the net at badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed the ball over the net. As the weekend progressed, the players found that the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface, and soon the net was lowered to 36 inches. The following weekend, Barney McCallum was introduced to the game at Pritchard’s home. Soon, the three men created rules, relying heavily on badminton. They kept the original purpose in mind: to provide a game the whole family could play together.