Pickleball is getting MUCH younger worldwide

In the U.S., pickleball is still often framed as a “retirement sport,” even though that image is increasingly out of date. The game’s early identity may have skewed older, but its growth over the past several years has been driven by a much broader mix of players, helping pull the average age down to around 34.

It is now far more cross-generational than the stereotype suggests. But outside the U.S., the growth engine often looks even younger…

→ This Week: Age myth, busted | Dance-like fake overhead | A Caribbean scene takes shape

Look at Asia: A 2025 UPA Asia + YouGov study (an online survey of 14,000+ respondents across 12 territories, extrapolated to population) found that 18–35-year-olds were the most aware of pickleball and the most likely to have played it; a snapshot of a sport “skewing younger.”

You can see that pipeline forming in the Philippines, where organizers launched the first Pilipinas Pickleball Intercollegiate Championship with seven schools (including UST, Mapúa, NU, UP, DLSU, Lyceum, and CSB) and with sponsors, formats, and rules that look like a sport building a real feeder system. At the University of Santo Tomas, “Pickle Ball” also appears directly in its PATH-FIT PE activity list.

In Spain, pickleball’s organizers are explicitly courting universities—right down to documenting a Spanish Open held at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria—while the Spanish tennis federation’s pickleball rules structure official calendars to include “Campeonatos Juveniles” (youth championships).

And in Mexico, one national development roadmap includes distributing “1000 kits” to low-resource areas and public schools as part of its growth plan, another tell that expansion isn’t only aimed at retirees and resorts.

We still don’t have perfect “average age” stats everywhere. But the pipeline is already visible: in many countries, pickleball is being built from the under-30s up, not the seniors down.

One game turns into four. Open play becomes “just one more.” A lesson rolls into a challenge match. Before long, the same ball has been hit by beginners, bangers, coaches, and the two guys who treat every rec point like there’s money on the line.

That’s why we trust the Franklin X-40. It’s the ball you dump out of the bag when you need the session to just work, no weird hop, no adjustment period, no drama. Just a ball players know, game(s) after game.

Use code clinic15 for 15% off and stock up.

Check out this clip from Manila, Philippines: after successfully defending a couple overheads himself, the player on the left decides to really sell one last one, deceiving the opponents at the baseline and pulling off a rare drop shot ‘putaway.’

…And it looks like one of the funkiest dance moves we’ve ever seen.

In Britain, annual tennis participation among 16–34-year-olds jumped 48% in a year, more than any other age category. It’s not a pickleball stat, but it’s a useful signal: across racquet sports, the growth pulse is often younger than the stereotype.

Source: LTA.org

Interesting tidbits from within the pickleball community:

…Well, there is no single country next week. It’ll be a special issue of Global Pickleball Report, so keep your eyes on your inbox!

A lot of pickleball coverage still talks about the sport like it belongs primarily to retirees. That framing was always a little lazy, and it looks even weaker once you start paying attention to what’s happening outside the U.S.

In Asia, UPA Asia and YouGov found that 18–35-year-olds were the most aware of pickleball and the most likely to have played it across 12 territories. It doesn’t mean every country has a perfect youth pipeline yet, but it does mean the sport’s global expansion is increasingly being carried by students, young professionals, first-time racquet-sport players, and organizers building something meant to last.

That matters because once a sport starts showing up in colleges, school systems, club structures, and entry-level competition, it stops feeling like a novelty. It becomes part of how people spend time, how they socialize, and how they compete. That’s a very different story than “retirement sport” or even a “30-something sport.”

Do not hesitate to email Adam or connect with him on LinkedIn with questions, concerns, or story ideas!