REAL Pickleball Journalism: Global Pickleball Report

Pickleball doesn’t belong to the United States anymore. In the 60 years and (roughly) five months since its invention on Bainbridge Island, pickleball expanded into a multi-billion dollar sport which at least 800 million people have played across 80 countries…even in Antarctica.

But despite all the change pickleball brought to the world of sports, it still lacks truly global coverage.

That’s why we, The Pickleball Clinic, started Global Pickleball Report: to tell international stories about the game and its people that you can’t find in tip videos, pro clips, or national news stories.

Every Monday, we’ll send you a pickleball story that gives you a broader view of the game, along with some interesting stats and updates about who’s playing around the world and how it’s impacting their communities. We’ll also offer you an extended look at these stories on our (upcoming) website.

Thank you for opening this email – if you want to learn more about who we are and why we’re doing this, continue reading until you reach the bottom.

→ This Week: Pickleball’s white whale | England’s worst growing pain | Epic point with an unfortunate end

What could be a more global pickleball story to start off with than the Olympic problem?

“Problem” is an unavoidable term here because placing any sport into The Games is an exceedingly dense and bureaucratic process…so much so that getting any formalized effort off the ground has proven almost impossible. The Olympics is undoubtedly pickleball’s White Whale.

But after years of in-fighting behind the scenes and organizational jockeying for position, the sport may be closer than it has ever been to becoming part of the Olympic canon.

Seymour Rifkind, founder of the World Pickleball Federation (WPF), says years of fractured leadership and failed merger attempts finally resulted in the WPF and former competing org, the International Pickleball Federation, finally unifying this summer under a single banner—a core requirement for International Olympic Committee (IOC) consideration.

A major next step is proof of global infrastructure: the ability to stage a world-class international event. Plans are now underway for the first World Pickleball Games, targeted for late spring 2026, with bids open to cities around the globe.

Meanwhile, another organizational merge is pushing for the sport closer to Olympic inclusion. Global Pickleball Federation (GPF) and the newly formed United World Pickleball Federation (UWPF) announced a joint initiative to create a single, fully unified international governing body.

The two groups have already formed a joint task force made up of representatives from both sides to design an IOC-compliant structure and negotiate full consolidation. Their first combined meeting took place on November 8th.

As for the big question—Los Angeles 2028—Rifkind says he remains realistic yet optimistic.

“If the IOC wants you, you’re in,” he says. “I’ve seen sports enter the Games just 14 months out. So I think we have at least a 10% chance.”

More importantly, he notes, Olympic acceptance would put pickleball’s governance back into the hands of actual pickleball players, not tennis federations with divided loyalties.

“Tennis doesn’t want pickleball expanding into tennis real estate,” Rifkind said. “Once our application is accepted, we’ll finally be able to govern our own sport for good.”

So the Olympic Problem is far from over; but for the first time, we’re finally seeing a breach.

In a moment, we’ll tell you about pickleball in England and the familiar challenge the country is facing while trying to keep up with the sport’s growth.

In the meantime: take a moment to enjoy a clip of high-level pickleball in Wales (if you can ignore the mess of lines on the court).

We see:

…All of this, only for the point to end on an error. Nonetheless: great point, lads.

Tennis legend Andre Agassi has teamed up with JOOLA on a new line of pickleball gear and accessories. The collaboration is built around exactly what you’d expect from Agassi and JOOLA: performance, innovation, and a serious nod to where this sport is headed globally.

JOOLA’s Pro IV paddles use a pro-designed core with added high-density foam in the throat to smooth out vibration and widen the effective sweet spot. Three tiers—Champion, Edge, and Pro—give everyone from newer rec players to tournament regulars a way into the line.

That’s the average age of a pickleball player in the U.K., a sharp contrast to the U.S.’s average pickleballer age of 34.

Source: Pickleball England.

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Interesting tidbits from within the pickleball community:

Can you guess where we’re headed? Respond to this email with your guess. First one to get it right will receive something nice!

Here’s a hint:

There are many pickleball newsletters, but most of them recycle the same stories, forming one big, boring feedback loop. After growing The Pickleball Clinic to one of the largest communities in the sport, co-founders Aaron and Matt decided it was time for something new. That’s when my phone rang.

I joined the Pickleball Clinic to kickstart this new concept with significant pickleball writing experience under my belt, having served as Content Director at two of the sport’s other well-known brands.

Now, I’m focused on creating the first of its kind, global voice illustrating what's happening behind the scenes AND on the courts.

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