Pickleball: How Well Wisconsin's Biggest Cities Meet Growing Demand

WISCONSIN — America’s fastest-growing sport, pickleball, is known well around Wisconsin. Combining elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, the activity is quickly gaining prominence and more space to play.

Two cities in Wisconsin, Madison and Milwaukee, recently ranked among 93 U.S. cities in providing enough pickleball courts. The ranking of pickleball courts in large cities comes from the Trust for Public Land, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that works with communities nationwide to create and protect park space.

Madison ranked at No. 5 on the list with 43 pickleball courts. In a city of 277,000 people, that’s about 1.6 pickleball courts per 10,000 residents.

Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, which ranked at No. 68, there are 18 pickleball courts. In a city of 576,000, that means there is about 1/3 of a court for every 10,000 residents.

The Sports & Fitness Industry Association said in its 2023 Topline Participation Report that last year, the number of pickleball players grew by nearly 86 percent year-over-year and by almost 159 percent over three years. The trade group estimates the number of players over age 6 at 8.9 million in 2022, an increase of 4.8 million players accounted for in the prior year.

Pickleball isn’t without controversy, though, as tennis and pickleball players compete for court space. USA Pickleball, the sport’s governing body, told The New York Times last fall that about 1,000 pickleball sites were added in 2021. On its website, USA Pickleball says about 110 new pickleball courts are added each month.

Three dads looking to entertain their kids on an island near Seattle invented pickleball in 1965. They found an old badminton court, used ping pong paddles instead of racquets, and created an easy-to-follow game using a Wiffle-type ball that entire families could play.

Because pickleball courts are only about a quarter of the size of tennis courts, there’s less ground to cover, making it an easier sport than tennis for people of all ages and abilities to play.

This video explains the basics of pickleball for beginners.