Pickleball was created in the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Congressman Joel Pritchard and businessman Bill Bell returned from a golf game to find their families bored. On the property was a former badminton court, but they couldn’t find a full set of rackets. They improvised by using ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball from a toy set. Initially, they volleyed the ball over a 60-inch-high net, but as play continued, they lowered the net to 36 inches after discovering the ball bounced well on the asphalt.
Barney McCallum joined the game the following weekend. Together, the three men created a set of rules, borrowing heavily from badminton. Their intention was to develop a game suitable for the entire family, and as we have seen from the incredible rise in the sport over the years, the growth of the game would have exceeded their expectations by a long shot.
- Pickleball was invented in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum on Bainbridge Island, WA.
- The sport grew from backyard fun to over 8.9 million U.S. players and a worldwide presence, with major tournaments and a professional league.
- Despite popular myth, pickleball was named after the “pickle boat” in crew, not the Pritchards’ dog Pickles, who came along years later.
Why Is Pickleball Called Pickleball?
Joan Pritchard, Joel Pritchard’s wife, coined the name “Pickle Ball” in the summer of 1965. She explained she chose the name because the game reminded her of a “pickle boat” from crew racing—boats staffed by leftover rowers who were not selected for main teams. Joan had attended Marietta College in Ohio, a university known for its strong rowing program, and as a fan of collegiate crew, she was familiar with that term.
The metaphor fit: the new game was a mix of leftover elements from other sports—tennis, ping-pong, badminton—assembled into a single activity, just as a pickle boat crew was composed of athletes leftover from other boats.
A competing version of the name origin later circulated that the game was named after the Pritchard family dog, Pickles. According to the story, Pickles chased balls during play and inspired the name. However, both the family and historical records clarify that Pickles the dog joined the family in 1968, three years after the game had been invented and named in 1965.
Frank Pritchard, their son, affirmed the family position: the name “Pickle Ball” was in use from the very first summer of play in 1965, and the dog was named after the game, not the other way around. Joel Pritchard later acknowledged the pickled-boat story as true and stated that the dog version had been propagated as a simpler anecdote by a reporter seeking a more heartwarming narrative.
When Was the First Pickleball Court Built?
In 1967, the first permanent pickleball court was constructed at the home of Bob O’Brian, a friend and neighbor of Joel Pritchard. In 1972, a corporation was formed to protect the new sport. Pickleball gained media attention in 1975 when The National Observer published an article on it, and again in 1976 when Tennis magazine described it as “America’s newest racquet sport.”
The same year, the first known pickleball tournament was held at the South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington. David Lester won Men’s Singles, and Steve Paranto placed second. Most competitors were collegiate tennis players new to the sport. They practiced with large wooden paddles and a softball-sized plastic ball.
Pickleball was included in the 1978 book The Other Racquet Sports. In 1982, Sid Williams began playing the sport and organizing tournaments in Washington State. In 1984, the United States Amateur Pickleball Association (U.S.A.P.A.) was formed to promote national growth. The first official rulebook was published in March 1984. Sid Williams served as Executive Director and President until 1998, followed by Frank Candelario through 2004.
Who Invented the First Composite Pickleball Paddle?
Arlen Paranto, a Boeing Industrial Engineer and father of Steve Paranto, developed the first composite pickleball paddle. He used fiberglass and nomex honeycomb panels—the same material used in commercial aircraft flooring and structures. Paranto made approximately 1,000 paddles using fiberglass/honeycomb and graphite/honeycomb cores before selling the company to Frank Candelario.
By 1990, pickleball was being played in all 50 U.S. states. In 1992, Pickle-Ball, Inc. began manufacturing balls using a custom drilling machine. Joel Pritchard passed away in 1997 at the age of 72. In 1999, the first pickleball-focused website, Pickleball Stuff, launched to provide players with equipment and information.
The Rise of Pickleball: From Senior Games to Global Tours
Pickleball has come a long way since its early grassroots days. In 2001, Earl Hill introduced the sport to the Arizona Senior Olympics at Happy Trails RV Resort in Surprise, Arizona. With 100 participants, it became the largest pickleball tournament held up to that point. Over the following years, participation grew to nearly 300 players.
By 2003, Pickleball Stuff had identified 39 active playing locations across 10 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces, totaling around 150 courts. The Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, officially added pickleball to its program the same year.
The formation of the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) came in 2005, with Mark Friedenberg appointed president. Supporting him were Steve Wong as Vice President and Webmaster, Fran Myer as Secretary, and Lela Reed as Treasurer. On July 1 of that year, USAPA incorporated as a non-profit and began working with other organizations to build a centralized directory of courts—what eventually became Places2Play.org.
Pickleball Enters the Spotlight
In 2008, the USAPA Rules Committee issued the first official tournament rulebook. That year also marked the sport’s debut on national television when ABC’s “Good Morning America” featured it in a live segment. Pickleball was also added to the National Senior Games Association’s program.
The inaugural USAPA National Tournament was held in Buckeye, Arizona, in November 2009, drawing nearly 400 competitors from 26 states and several Canadian provinces. USAPA also introduced its Grant Program that year, which led to the creation of over 1,400 new playing sites by the end of 2013. In 2010, USAPA launched the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) and the accompanying website ifpickleball.org.
By 2013, USAPA had hired its first full-time Executive Director, Justin Maloof. Membership hit 4,071, and the organization introduced a new red, white, and blue logo.
Expansion and Milestones
USAPA membership surpassed 10,000 in 2015. Later, during the same year, the organization relocated its National Championships to Casa Grande, Arizona, and published “Pickleball Fundamentals.” The Places2Play database listed over 12,800 courts.
Membership ballooned to over 17,000 in 2016. The USAPA introduced a certified referee program and debuted Pickleball Magazine. Naples, Florida, hosted the first US Open Pickleball Championships, which were televised by CBS Sports Network. That year also brought the formation of the Super Senior International Pickleball Association (SSIPA) and a charitable partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
In 2017, more than 1,500 volunteers made up the Ambassador network, and court locations reached 5,900. The Pickleball Hall of Fame was established, inducting Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum, Sid Williams, Arlen Paranto, Mark Friedenberg, and Billy Jacobsen. The USAPA National Championships drew over 1,300 players and a two-hour CBS Sports Network broadcast. Membership reached 22,000 by year’s end.
Membership continued to climb in 2018, exceeding 30,000. The number of court locations neared 7,000, totaling more than 21,000 courts. 2018 was also the year we saw the launch of the UTPR player rating system and the certification of over 1,000 instructors via the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR). The National Championships moved to Indian Wells Tennis Garden, drawing over 2,200 participants and 17 hours of live coverage on ESPN3. The prize pool reached $75,000.
By 2019, USA Pickleball had nearly 40,000 members. The National Championships attracted close to 28,000 spectators, though unfortunately, this is the year Barney McCallum passed away at 93. Hall of Fame inductees included Dan Gabanek, Jennifer Lucore, Enrique Ruiz, and Steve Paranto.
A Rebranding and Rapid Growth
In 2020, the USAPA rebranded as USA Pickleball. Stu Upson was appointed as the organization’s first full-time CEO, and membership climbed to 53,000 by the end of 2021. More than 2,300 players participated in the Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships in 2020, with national media outlets like The New York Times, Forbes, USA Today, CNBC, BBC, and Allure giving pickleball widespread coverage.
In 2022, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. for the second consecutive year. The National Championships that year featured a peak crowd of 5,522 and a prize pool of $150,000.
The sport’s momentum continued into 2023, with USA Pickleball reporting more than 70,000 members. The SFIA’s 2023 Topline Participation Report revealed that 8.9 million Americans aged six and older played pickleball in 2022, nearly double the 4.8 million from the previous year.
According to the SFIA 2025 Participation Report, pickleball retained its title as the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. for the fourth consecutive year. An estimated 19.8 million Americans played in 2024, marking a 45.8% increase from 2023 and a staggering 311% growth over three years. DinkPickleball reported a total of 19.81 million players in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 43.9%.
In Arizona, the PPA Tour’s Mesa Cup drew 18,965 attendees and generated more than $300,000 in ticket revenue. Anna Leigh Waters, with a 69-match winning streak and 163 gold medals at just 18 years old, became the first pickleball athlete to attend the ESPY Awards in July 2025. She attributed the sport’s rapid rise to its accessibility and voiced her hopes of seeing pickleball in the Olympics by 2032.
Pickleball Goes Global
In July 2024, the Pickleball World Rankings (PWR) unveiled a global ranking system and announced the PWR World Series. Kicking off in March 2025 in the Middle East, the tour features $15 million in total prize money, including $1.5 million for the inaugural stop.
Also in 2024, the United Pickleball Association (UPA) expanded internationally with PPA Tour Asia and MLP Asia. Events were scheduled across Melbourne (Jan 29–Feb 2), Mumbai (Feb 5–9), and Toronto (September), alongside other stops across Asia and Europe. The season concludes with a World Championship in Dallas in November 2025.
When Was Legal Betting on Pickleball Introduced?
In August 2023, the PPA Tour became the first pickleball organization to introduce legal betting through a partnership with FanDuel Sportsbook. Wagering debuted at the Vulcan Kansas City Open (August 24–27, 2023) in ten U.S. states (Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Wyoming) and Ontario, Canada. Available bet types included moneyline, over/under points, and correct match scores.
The PPA launched a Sports Betting and Integrity Policy with oversight from Sportradar, banning players and staff from pickleball betting. Age restrictions applied—21+ in most states, 18 in Wyoming.
Global Reach and Infrastructure Growth
As of early 2025, pickleball participation in the U.S. reached 19.8 million, participation rates across SFIA-tracked sports rose to 80% overall (up from 73.2% in 2019), and pickleball continued growing nationwide.
In Australia, over 92,000 people played in the year to June 2024, and Pickleball Australia Association had 16,729 registered players and 267 clubs as of February 5, 2025. In India, more than 50,000 people had played pickleball, and over 500 courts existed across the country as of late 2024. In the Philippines, the Philippine Pickleball Federation had 13,156 registered players and 211 clubs by March 13, 2025, following national Olympic recognition in May 2024.
In the U.S. collegiate scene, over 166 universities had active pickleball clubs as of 2025. The National Collegiate Pickleball Association held its 2025 national championship in Las Vegas (Feb 14–16, 2025), where Utah Valley University won and Utah Tech University placed second; the prize pool was $30,000. The Collegiate Pickleball Tour held spring Nationals in Atlanta in 2025, won by Texas Christian University (runner-up: University of Texas at Austin).
