The Growing Popularity of Pickleball: A Look at the Top Countries and Players
Pickleball, a sport that has been gaining immense popularity worldwide, has two prominent figures representing it in India and the USA – Atul Edward and Anna Leigh Waters, respectively. As World Pickleball Day was celebrated on 10th October this year, the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) shared insightful data showcasing the rapid growth of pickleball across the globe.
With more than 10% of tennis courts in the United States being repurposed as pickleball courts, it’s evident that the sport is on the rise. To shed light on the global impact of pickleball, DUPR revealed the top 10 countries with the highest number of active players, the countries experiencing the fastest growth in pickleball, and the most active countries in terms of matches played per player.
The United States leads the pack with the most pickleball players, followed by Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia. Puerto Rico, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mexico, and China complete the list of top 10 countries with a significant pickleball fanbase.
India emerges as the country with the highest growth in pickleball players, with Thailand, Venezuela, China, and the Philippines following suit. Other nations like Mexico, Japan, South Africa, France, and the United Kingdom have also witnessed substantial growth in pickleball participation.
Moreover, countries such as Sri Lanka, Brunei, Qatar, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Honduras, El Salvador, Lebanon, Iran, Ghana, and Paraguay have recently started embracing pickleball, indicating a promising future for the sport on a global scale.
In terms of active players per match in 2024, Hungary takes the lead, with Australia, Tanzania, Poland, and Peru also featuring in the top five. Trinidad and Tobago, Belgium, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Canada round off the top ten countries with the most active pickleball players.
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