There IS NO 'noise issue'

After nearly a decade of data, studies, and real municipal casework, it seems we’ve learned quite a bit and nothing from pickleball’s most notorious problem.

Pickleball’s sound is real. The planning failures are just more important. In this issue, we break down why that distinction is important to the future of the sport.

→ This Week: Why noise isn’t the issue | Canada’s pickleball surge | The point that has it all

Pickleball’s issue was never about noise. Despite a crop of new products trying to “solve” for the sport’s characteristic and much bemoaned sounds, these acoustic qualities were destined to be a part of a game played with hollow, plastic balls and solid paddles.

I’ve been writing about pickleball for years across the sport’s most trusted media brands, and I can tell you one thing: the problem is court placement. It (somehow) still is, though there’s hope for change.

You’re familiar with this cycle:

→ neighbors complain
→ courts get restricted
→ local officials talk about “the noise” and the sport itself gets blamed

The reason this cycle never slowed in the US is simple. Participation exploded, and with rapid growth came a rush to add courts, often by converting whatever space was easiest rather than whatever site made the most long-term sense. What many grumpy neighbors forget is that there was real pressure placed on Parks Departments and municipal planners to accommodate constituents’ demand.

While it’s incredible to think that it took the better part of a decade for municipalities to learn from this mistake and correct their errors, cities are beginning to write sport-specific siting rules:

I’ve always raised my eyebrow at “quiet pickleball tech” because to me, it is obvious that the sport itself does not need to be “fixed” nearly as much as the placement planning does.

Quiet paddles and balls can help, but they are not a substitute for setbacks, smarter zoning, and the willingness to say a bad site is just a bad site.

As pickleball expands worldwide, the places that treat court placement as serious planning concern—not an afterthought—will be the ones that help turn a fast-growing pastime into a lasting global sport. We’ll cover some of the innovations in this area soon.

In honor of this issue’s “visit” to Canada, here’s a point that has it all, taken from four of the country’s finest.

What we find extra compelling is how much fun these players appear to have while also taking the point incredibly seriously and demonstrating some advanced skills.

Most players think they’re tired. A lot of them are just under-fueled.

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That’s the estimated growth in Canadian pickleball participation from 2022 to January 2025, according to a survey commissioned by Pickleball Canada. The sport is still accelerating there, and not only among older players. The biggest recent increase came from ages 35–54.

Source: The Star.

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:

For years now, pickleball’s noise debate has been framed as though the sport itself is the problem. I’ve never really bought that. The sound is real, but the bigger failure has almost always been where courts were placed, how quickly they were added, and how often planning came second to demand. That distinction matters because one path leads toward blaming the game for being itself, while the other leads toward building it more intelligently.

This issue is really about that difference. It is also why I think this conversation matters far beyond the United States. As more countries add courts, clubs, and public facilities, they now have the benefit of seeing what went wrong in earlier-growth markets and what better planning can look like.

Canada, in particular, feels like a fitting country to visit in this issue: not just because of its growth, but because it helps show what a more mature national pickleball story can start to resemble. If the sport is going to keep expanding globally, it cannot just grow fast. It has to grow well.

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