The turning point is here! USTA report reveals that pickleball surpasses tennis

The USTA (United States Tennis Association) recently released a tennis data analysis report, which counted the changes in the number of tennis and pickleball players in the four years from 2019 to 2023. This report predicted an astonishing truth: pickleball will surpass tennis in 2026 and officially become the largest racket sport in the United States.

According to the statistics in the report, the future of tennis is not optimistic. Especially among young people, the number of tennis players under the age of 18 decreased by 14% in 2023, directly losing more than 1 million young players. At the same time, the participation rate of pickleball increased by 50%, becoming one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. According to this trend, the number of people playing pickleball in the United States will surpass tennis players in 2026.

Key data interpretation: Tennis vs. Pickleball
In 2023:
The number of tennis players increased by only 1% (and the definition is loose, only one play counts) to 23.8 million, while the number of pickleball players increased by more than 50% to 12.1 million;
The number of tennis players under 18 years old decreased by 14%, while the number of pickleball players doubled, and colleges and universities set off a pickleball craze;
The number of tennis players who play 10 times or more per year decreased by 2% to only 11.8 million, while the number of pickleball players who play more than 10 times per month increased significantly.

The turning point has arrived
The USTA report shows that tennis as a whole is going downhill, while pickleball is rising rapidly and unstoppably. With the loss of young people, reduced participation, and fewer core players, the USTA itself no longer expects growth and only wants to "stay stable". At the same time, pickleball is attracting a large number of new players, and its stickiness is extremely high, truly becoming a popular national sport around the world.