McEnroe, Sharapova… the pickleball phenomenon in the United States

Pickleball exploded after the pandemic. It is fashionable. Shares elements of tennis, paddle tennis, badminton and table tennis. 36 million people play it in North America. There are no age, gender or physical condition limitations. John McEnroe, Maria Sharapova, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf They promote it in the United States. The Miami Open will organize a tournament linked to its Masters 1000.

Created in 1965until the pandemic broke out, because it was easy to learn and do, in addition to having no age, gender or physical condition limitations. They are the great forces that explain the immense growth of this sport on American soil.

This is why few sports disciplines can boast such good health in such a short time. Being so easy to practice means that ‘pickleball’ has the greatest age of its practitioners, with an average between 18 and 34 years of age.

The construction of railways does not stop, Today there are over 10,000 physical places where you can play pickleball, and most importantly, a market size of nearly $153 million.

The process of setting up a track is quick, cheap and effective. It takes up almost no space, requires no major work or assembly, and can be played outdoors or indoors.

A round business with a thousand different skins

The profitability of this sport is absolutely any formula that the investor can imagine, from focusing on the purest sporting side, whether as entertainment or even competition, to mixing the concept of ‘pickleball’. with more traditional ones such as restaurants or entertainment.

In this way, we find different lines of business that have an excuse to grab a shovel with friends. There are traditional clubs, specifically dedicated to the practice of ‘pickleball’, and professional circuits that also attract the interest of beginners, creating, for example, the ‘Major League Pickleball’ wave ‘PPA Tour’.

The commitment to ‘Indoor’ is very clear in large projects such as ‘Pickleball America’ or ‘Pure Pickleball’, which aspires to build the biggest club in the world in places like Arizona or Connecticut. Behind projects like this there are investors like Tom Brady or LeBron James.

There is also a more recreational and entertainment approach with large surfaces where the sports part is integrated into a concept more like that of a bowling alley, as offered by the chain. ‘Chicken and Pickles’. It is basically a restaurant where you can consume drinks and food while playing with friends, something very similar to the well-known ‘Top Golf’.

‘Chicken N Pickle’ started in 2016 and Today it has eight locations in five different states. The company’s plans include opening seven more business units.

Tennis, as the best attraction

In case someone in the United States has yet to learn what pickleball is, The great legends of the racket manage to promote it in return for juicy financial rewards.

This past February 4, for example, the second edition of Pickleball Slam‘in the magnificent casino ‘Hard Rock Hotel’, in Hollywood, north of Miami. A tournament that piqued the interest of many fans because of the names placed on both sides of the net, on one side John McEnroe and Maria Sharapovaof others Andrew Agassi and Steffi Graf, in total 42 titles ‘Grand Slam’.

The event was broadcast on national television by one of the channels ESPN and, whoever wants to see it live has to go to the cashier, with tickets from 49 up to 304 dollars. Seeing McEnroe’s racket break again is priceless.

Furthermore, himself Miami Open has announced that it will organize, in conjunction with its tournament, another pickleball tournament. It is the first to be associated with a Masters 1000the organization that knows how to join the fever and madness for this new sport under consideration the fastest growing in America.

Padel, a parallel path to pickleball

While pickleball has found its way into the hearts of Americans of all ages, now it’s padel the latest racket sport attracting millions from investors to USA.

With positive results proven all over the planet, paddle tennis has arrived in the United States with the help of a Latin or Spanish player, a niche that He made the city of Miami the center of paddle tennis.

Now paddle tennis is at its peak in the United States with many new initiatives to open clubs in different latitudes, in addition to strengthening the ‘Pro Padel League’the American professional circuit attracting professionals from ‘World Padel Tour’.

As assessed Marcos del Pilarcommissioner of the PPL, has passed the point of no return with high growth and investment to give visibility and exposure to this sport: “There are many projects coming in the coming months, there are many investment groups behind everything these projects, In the next ten months the number of runways that currently exist could be doubled.”